Local timeline

Ethiopia has officially joined the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System network to enhance cross-border payments across the continent.
Source: TechArena Kenya
https://www.techarena.co.ke/2026/10/19/ethiopia-joins-papss-network-cross-border-payments/

Amazon and X-energy have inked another deal to deploy nuclear power to the grid. This one will generate nearly 1 gigawatt of electricity. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/19/amazon-to-fund-12-small-nuclear-reactors-at-former-indiana-coal-plant/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Fed up with ads, tracking and sluggish interfaces, some smart TV owners are turning to AI agents to strip away bloatware and take back control of their TVs. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/19/people-are-using-ai-to-make-their-smart-tvs-dumb-again/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Nvidia has secured Modal, a fast-growing AI startup, to use its new Vera central processor for hosting agents. Modal previously ran such workloads on Intel and AMD chips.
Source: The Economic Times
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/nvidia-wins-fast-growing-ai-startup-modal-for-new-central-processors/articleshow/135051728.cms
#AI #Nvidia #Intel

Emil Michael says the US government can use export controls on AI companies that do not cooperate with it.
Source: The Next Web
https://thenextweb.com/news/emil-michael-export-controls-ai-labs-anthropic-the-information
#TechPolicy

Amnon Shashua's startup doubleAI has launched Maxwell, an AI model that works inside running software to make it use less computing power.
Source: The Next Web
https://thenextweb.com/news/doubleai-maxwell-code-execution-model-compute-costs
#Tech

Nvidia is leaning hard into the trend of enterprise companies wanting to run their own open models in their own data centers and also trying to make on-device, private AI agents a thing. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/19/nvidia-launches-new-open-models-to-run-agents-in-the-enterprise-and-on-pcs/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Motive Inc. announced a new Agents capability that automatically responds to safety, maintenance and operational issues before they become accidents or costly breakdowns.
Source: SiliconANGLE
https://siliconangle.com/2026/10/19/motive-brings-agentic-ai-to-physical-operations-with-agents-that-act-before-problems-escalate/
#AIAgents

Monitoring tools are used in factories, offices, delivery work and retail, often without employees being informed.
Source: The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/20/workplace-privacy-concerns-employers-use-ai-to-monitor-staff
#TechPolicy

Amnon Shashua's doubleAI has unveiled a code execution model named Maxwell.
Source: Globes
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-1001560057#utm_source=RSS
#Tech

Motive Technologies has launched a new artificial intelligence offering called Agents.
Source: SiliconANGLE
https://siliconangle.com/2026/10/19/motive-technologies-revs-up-new-ai-agents-to-automate-fleet-management/
#AIAgents

China has extended its domestic satellite internet service to the polar regions, achieving fully self-controlled polar communications and ending reliance on foreign technology.
Source: South China Morning Post
https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3371386/chinas-milestone-polar-region-satellite-broadband-narrows-gap-elon-musks-starlink?utm_source=rss_feed
#Tech

Tanzania is exploring nuclear technology to diversify its energy mix.
Source: The Citizen Tanzania Business
https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/national/tanzania-explores-nuclear-power-to-diversify-energy-mix-5637314
#TechPolicy

Apple said that it will ban AI apps that don't moderate offensive content. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/19/apple-updates-guidelines-to-ban-nudify-apps-masquerading-as-regular-apps-to-pass-review/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

That's more than $10 billion in shares, or around 1% of Musk's current net worth. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/19/musk-pledges-to-give-every-kid-in-america-one-of-his-spacex-shares/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

De Claro will prioritize affordable, more reliable internet. The DICT will focus on improving internet access and digital public services under Secretary Robert Joseph de Claro.
Source: Back End News
https://backendnews.net/de-claro-to-prioritize-affordable-more-reliable-internet/
#TechPolicy

Kylie Minogue songs have already been used to train artificial intelligence, and the International Confederation of Music Publishers says Australia is the only country among dozens approached that is considering weakening its copyright law.
Source: The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/19/australia-music-global-copywright-outlier-ai-music-body-warnsns
#TechPolicy

UAE doctors performed the country's first robotic thyroid surgery on a 27-year-old woman, and she was discharged the next day.
Source: Gulf News
https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/uae-performs-first-robotic-thyroid-surgery-patient-discharged-next-day-1.500715847
#Robotics

Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan plan to expand cooperation in financial technology, payment systems and digital asset regulation.
Source: Kun.uz
https://kun.uz/en/news/2026/10/19/uzbekistan-and-azerbaijan-to-deepen-cooperation-in-fintech-and-digital-asset-regulation
#TechPolicy

The Supreme Court rejected a ban on social media for children and affirmed that internet access is a fundamental right.
Source: MediaNama
https://www.medianama.com/2026/10/223-sc-csam-regulations-intermediaries-social-media-ban/
#TechPolicy