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China’s dominance in clean energy has put the country on a singularly strong footing when it comes to competing with the rest of the world — particularly the US — in building artificial intelligence.That’s according to Julian Wentzel, chief sustainability officer at HSBC Holdings, who says an economy built on renewable energy brings with it advantages that can’t be replicated by fossil fuels.“China has put themselves in a very unique position in terms of the energy requirement to fuel their economy and ultimately their AI architecture,” Wentzel said in an interview.The vast build-out of clean energy in China — the country is on track to once again break its own record in installing renewable power this year — “enhances their cost of capital,” he said.Once renewable energy infrastructure is built and the upfront investment has been paid off, producing extra energy carries effectively no incremental cost; fossil fuels, in contrast, require ongoing costs for extraction, transport, refining and distribution, he said.“Once you’ve got the architecture in place, as the demand grows, you can deliver that demand at zero cost,” Wentzel said. As the “percentage cost of every incremental kilojoule of power relative to total GDP declines over time,” it becomes “a very powerful lever to the underlying growth of an economy.”The comments stand in contrast to the policy position of the government in the US, where Energy Secretary Chris Wright has argued that a rapid transition to clean energy will raise energy costs and hurt economic growth. And for now, fossil fuels continue to provide a major share of the energy powering AI data centres.Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said recently the supply of power, rather than the availability of semiconductors, accounted for the biggest bottleneck in data centre capacity. And by some estimates, the energy needs of existing and planned AI infrastructure in the US can’t be met with current supply.That dynamic has created an opportunity for oil majors to cash in on the enormous demand for energy that will be needed to power data centres. Chevron Corp said on Wednesday it will provide natural gas-fired power to a data centre in West Texas, the beginning of a new line of business for the company to capitalise on the AI boom.The global race to dominate AI depends on an array of factors that includes chips and supply chains as well as rare earths and key metals such as copper. But energy supply is key, and because renewables are low-cost to run once infrastructure is built, countries that have greater access to them have an advantage, Wentzel said.China is challenging developments in the West not just due to its dominance in cheap renewable energy, but also due to its approach to building artificial intelligence. That became apparent earlier this year, when startup DeepSeek indicated the country is capable of producing AI at a much lower cost and greater energy efficiency than US rivals.China’s growing dominance is also shaping talks at the COP30 summit in Belem, Brazil, where California Governor Gavin Newsom took several opportunities to warn that the US risks losing out on numerous fronts.One of the great abdications of the climate fight is “the own goal of the president of the US who simply doesn’t understand how enthusiastic President Xi is that the Trump administration is nowhere at COP30,” Newsom said.The US and legacy automakers “better wake up to that,” Newsom said at a press conference. “This is about economic power.”China manufactures about 80% of the world’s solar panels, supplies some 60% of the planet’s wind turbines, 70% of its electric vehicles and 75% of batteries, all at a lower financial cost than the West.To be sure, though China is adding unprecedented amounts of wind and solar, it’s still investing heavily in fossil fuels. That includes coal, which is one of the reasons the country produces almost 30% of global emissions.Wentzel said economies that rely more on clean energy are also more likely to reduce volatility in inflation.“Removing dependence on fuel commodities reduces capital account fluctuations, exposure to inflation and price swings,” he said. “As renewable systems scale, energy costs as a share of GDP can fall, strengthening the financial efficiency of the system and supporting higher economic growth.”

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) held a workshop on ‘Using Generative AI for Internal Auditors’, bringing together 124 professionals from across industries to explore how Artificial Intelligence is transforming the future of auditing. The workshop offered practical insights into leveraging Generative AI tools to enhance audit procedures, enabling auditors to perform their roles more efficiently and add greater value to their organisations. Participants also gained hands-on experience with AI tools and engaged in dynamic discussions on integrating technology into everyday audit practices. The event was led by trainers Hatem el-Safty and Yousif Hussain, who shared their deep expertise on AI adoption and its applications in the internal audit profession. During the workshop, they emphasised the transformative potential of Generative AI in the internal audit profession. They highlighted how AI can assist auditors in performing audit procedures more efficiently. The trainers also emphasised that while AI can significantly enhance audit quality and speed, the human auditor’s judgment, ethics, and professional scepticism remain crucial. The experts also encouraged participants to embrace technology as a collaborative tool rather than a replacement, underscoring the need for auditors to continuously upskill and adapt in an increasingly digital audit environment.

The Ministry of Municipality has announced the launch of the pilot version of the Institutional Excellence and Knowledge Transfer System, based on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. This is the first step of its kind in the region, coinciding with the launch of the evaluation process for the second edition of the Qatar Government Excellence Award.The new system was launched in collaboration between the Information Systems Department and the Planning, Quality, and Innovation Department. It represents a qualitative shift in the concept of institutional excellence, leveraging artificial intelligence tools to achieve superior performance and ensure the sustainability of institutional excellence through continuous improvement, accuracy, and speed of completion.The ministry explained in a statement that the system aims to enhance awareness of the concepts of excellence and innovation among leaders and decision-makers, and to spread a culture of institutional excellence within the ministry, keeping pace with the pace of digital transformation and modern institutional development trends. Excellence has become a strategic necessity dictated by global competition. The new system’s most prominent features include its role as a virtual assistant for standards leaders, rapid access to results and outputs, enhanced awareness and dissemination of a culture of institutional excellence, integrated connectivity between relevant standards and practices, the ability to extract evidence and information quickly and accurately, and the provision of an innovative, interactive environment to enhance employee engagement.The ministry emphasised that the system represents more than just a technical tool; it is a strategic partner in the institutional excellence journey and a driver of knowledge innovation. It noted that it was developed through extensive collaborative efforts and working sessions with partners from AI technology providers, establishing it as a pioneering model for digital transformation in the field of institutional excellence and innovative work.

The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) always encourages the use of technological advancements to serve the public, a senior official has said.“In road projects, we have intelligent transportation systems. We have autonomous vehicles. We even use artificial intelligence (AI). We use laser scanning technology for road networks to map any potential impacts on the roads,” said Engineer Abdulrahman Ahmed al-Ansari, Senior Projects Engineer at the Office of President of Ashghal, while talking to Qatar TV.He added that new technologies change the level of services in the sewage network.“We always encourage the use of the latest technologies in cooperation with our partners. There are the latest technologies for roads. There are various and modern technologies in sewage networks. Some of these include robots and drones,” he said.Regarding the projects that were recently awarded by Ashghal, al-Ansari said, these contracts are part of Ashghal’s strategic plan to enhance infrastructure. “These contracts include roads, public buildings, and drainage networks. Their goal is to improve the daily quality of life for the public, both citizens and residents. Through this role, we contribute to Qatar National Vision 2030 in terms of sustainability and improving services,” he said.Ashghal recently announced 13 new contracts worth QR 12bn to enhance the infrastructure of road and drainage networks and public buildings and improve the quality of life in Qatar. The new projects that were awarded include road network operation and maintenance works, drainage networks operation and maintenance works, construction of three new schools, improving safety and fire systems in 40 existing schools, refurbishment of the Psychiatric Hospital of Hamad Medical Corporation, and renovation of Al Zubara Horse Breeding Farm.

Japan's Nikkei share average closed at a record high on Wednesday, fighting back from early losses on optimism buoyed by investments in artificial intelligence. The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.3% to close at an unprecedented 45,630.31, recovering from earlier session losses as wide as 0.6%. The broader Topix gauge gained 0.2%. The Nikkei's largest gainers were industrial manufacturer IHI, which rose 9.7%, followed by SoftBank Group, which jumped 6%. The sharpest falls were in shares of utility Tokyo Electric Power, which was down 4.89%, followed by video game maker Nexon, which sank 3.8%.

NEXX, a logistics AI (artificial intelligence) company, in association with Zipto Supply Chain, a leading Chinese cross-border E-commerce logistics provider, is expanding into Qatar market as it establishes advanced smart fulfillment center at Milaha Logistics City, Qatar, to enhance cross-border E-commerce logistics capabilities in the region.In this regard, NEXX officially announced strategic partnerships with Zipto Supply Chain and Middle East delivery leader iMile, during the Belt and Road Summit held in Hong Kong."Together with Zipto's expertise in Chinese market access and iMile's last-mile excellence, powered by our AI-driven fulfillment center, we are positioned to transform the region's logistics landscape and revolutionise service standards in this sector," said Hui Ka, Oscar, chief executive officer of NEXX.Operated jointly by NEXX, Milaha and Hong Kong E-commerce logistics company KEC, the 5,000sqm smart fulfillment center is equipped with an agentic AI management system, automated sorting robots, and pharmaceutical logistics certification.It offers end-to-end warehousing and fulfillment services tailored for cross-border B2C E-commerce customers. The center also supports B2B operations and features a bonded warehouse. It is scheduled to commence full operations in the fourth quarter of this year.On NEXX's strategic partnership with Zipto to expand into the Qatar market, this partnership will see Zipto utilise the former's advanced smart fulfillment center as its primary Qatar operational base, harnessing the facility's sophisticated automation capabilities to serve Chinese E-commerce businesses expanding into the Qatari market, with planned subsequent expansion into the UAE.In a complementary agreement, NEXX has partnered with iMile, which will establish its Qatar headquarters within NEXX's smart fulfillment center, utilising the facility's intelligent logistics infrastructure to enhance and expand its delivery services across the country through integrated technological solutions."We are pleased to support NEXX and its partners Zipto and iMile as they bring innovative logistics solutions to Qatar. Our commitment to fostering international collaboration and sustainable business growth is strengthened by these important partnerships, which will position Qatar as a central player in the region's E-commerce landscape," said Sheikh Ali Alwaleed al-Thani, chief executive officer of Invest Qatar.NEXX had recently announced a strategic investment from Rasmal Ventures — the first independent venture capital fund supported by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). It disclosed that Ibrahim al-Derbasti, executive vice president of Offshore and Marine at Milaha, as co-founder of NEXX Middle East.

Microsoft announced the launch of its first internally developed artificial intelligence models. The first model is named MAI-Voice-1, dedicated to generating natural voices, while the second model, MAI-1-preview, is classified as a foundational text model that was fully developed and trained within the company.According to the company's statement, the MAI-Voice-1 model is distinguished by its ability to generate a full minute of audio in less than one second using only a single graphics processing unit (GPU).The model is already being used in some Copilot services, such as Copilot Daily, which provides a daily audio summary of news, in addition to producing podcast-like discussions to explain topics.Users can also try it via the Copilot Labs platform, with the ability to adjust the tone and delivery style. As for the text model MAI-1-preview, it was trained using approximately 15,000 Nvidia H100 chips and is designed to handle textual instructions and provide useful responses to daily inquiries.Microsoft confirmed that this model offers a glimpse of what it will present in the future within the Copilot ecosystem. The company has already begun testing it through the LMArena platform, which measures the performance of AI models, and it will be gradually integrated into some Copilot services over the coming weeks.This step comes at a time when Copilot services still rely primarily on Open AI technologies. Microsoft believes that combining a set of specialized models that serve diverse needs and uses will provide tremendous value to users and pave the way for a new phase of competition in the global AI race.