Digital Economy

Chinese tech industry experts state rising AI token usage is creating a token-based economy, with AI tokens evolving beyond technical metrics to underpin AI service delivery and pricing. Yin Hao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences highlighted this transition at a conference, noting the shift from data and computing economies to a token economy.

Tokopedia, Indonesia’s e-commerce giant majority-owned by ByteDance, has denied mass lay-offs but confirmed restructuring, sparking concerns about Southeast Asia’s tech winter. Analysts warn the situation highlights ongoing challenges in Indonesia’s digital economy and raise questions about Tokopedia’s integration into ByteDance’s ecosystem.

The Gambia and Senegal have signed a series of landmark cooperation agreements covering energy, border management, the digital economy, youth development, technology, culture and tourism, as well as higher education, research, science and technology.

Data centers are critical enablers of ASEAN’s digital economy, but rapid digitalization is creating significant sustainability challenges. The article questions whether ASEAN’s environmental goals can withstand the growth of data centers.

Pope Leo warned about AI's risks, emphasizing the need for ethical constraints and highlighting threats to workers, privacy, and human life. Americans, including Guardian readers, echoed these concerns about unregulated AI and its potential to create 'new forms of slavery' in the digital economy.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, known for his 'Sharif speed' in executing projects, met with Alibaba Group chairman Joe Tsai during his China visit and requested a comprehensive strategic agreement to boost Pakistan's digital economy. The meeting took place at Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou.

Pope Leo denounces the 'culture of power' driving the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, urging 'most rigorous' ethical constraints. He also apologized for the Catholic Church's delayed condemnation of slavery, warning about 'new forms of slavery' in the digital economy.

Virginia and other rural areas are constructing data centers to support the digital economy, which often involves displacing historical or cultural sites. This development highlights the tension between technological progress and the preservation of the past.