Vladimir Putin has said Russia will use all weapons at his disposal if it considers it has come under direct attack in its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. Addressing the Valdai foreign policy forum, Putin insisted Russia was not threatening anyone and merely responding to statements by Western leaders that Moscow was preparing for war in 2029 or 2030. Throughout this week, Russia has accused Nato of preparing to blockade its territory, which borders Lithuania and Poland, warning that it would even be prepared to use nuclear weapons if the West tried to cut off Kaliningrad from the rest of Russia. Nato has sought to calm the situation, stressing it is a defensive alliance and urging Moscow to stop its nuclear threats. Western allies have faced a surge in so-called hybrid warfare incidents blamed on Russia, particularly in Poland and the Baltics in recent months.

As AI moves from pilots to production, enterprises must decide when consumption pricing still fits--and when AI infrastructure should be treated as a productive asset. When customers talk about AI costs, the conversation usually starts with token prices and ends with access to the latest, most capable model in the cloud. Do they always need that level of capability? But that is often where the conversation goes. As AI moves from experimentation to production, model choice is only part of the equation. When demand becomes steady and business-critical, a consumption-only approach can turn AI spending into a variable monthly line item that is difficult to forecast as usage, workloads, and model requirements change.

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Annual spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure may reach as much as $1.5 trillion by 2031, consulting firm Bain & Co. said in its annual global technology report. The global artificial intelligence industry needs to earn $6 trillion in annual revenue by 2031 to justify the capital being deployed to build data centers around the world, Bain & Co. said. Existing consumer and enterprise AI services may generate as much as $1.8 trillion of that sum, leaving $4.2 trillion in new revenue that needs to be created, the consulting firm said Tuesday in its annual global technology report. The shortfall likely will come from nascent segments ranging from autonomous machines to robotics, as well as emerging fields such as drug discovery, mental health and energy generation, it said. "What the industry needs is a wave of innovation that will dwarf what mobile and cloud unlocked," said David Crawford, the report's lead author and chair of Bain's Global Technology, Media, and Telecommunications practice.

House Republicans allege the Chinese Communist Party is using tax-exempt organizations and social media to wage an influence campaign against American AI infrastructure data centers.

Is the war entering a new phase? Russia's attacks on Ukraine kill six after Zelenskyy-Trump talks Share Russia's attacks on Ukraine kill six after Zelenskyy-Trump talks on social media At least two people have been killed in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, along with four others in the front-line Donetsk region, as Russia pounds the country just hours after US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed peace efforts. The rare daytime attack on Kyiv was carried out with faster and high-flying jet drones that are harder to intercept and lasted for hours from the morning into early afternoon on Wednesday, killing two and injuring more than 30 others, according to local officials. "Russia continues to turn civilian and critical infrastructure into targets: pharmaceutical facilities, gas stations, railways, communications infrastructure, and shopping malls," he said on X. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a Russian drone hit a nine-storey non-residential building in his city, as well as a business centre and warehouses. Ukrainian oil company Ukrnafta said Russia hit one of its petrol stations in the capital, the sixth such facility attacked in recent weeks.

The telecom giant is eager to show Wall Street that it can do more with less. That means fewer employees, less electricity, and increased automation. AT&T, which already shed more than half of its workforce over the past decade, says it's going to continue laying off staff as it gears up for the AI era . The telecommunications giant is also doing away with its old-school landline service and using artificial intelligence to automate some internal processes. All this downsizing is resulting in tangible benefits, including a considerable decrease in electricity usage, AT&T chief technology officer Jeremy Legg tells WIRED.

Chinese robots have quickly entered global public consciousness in recent years, appearing as background robo-dancers in pop concerts and as humanoid marathon and sprint runners outpacing elite athletes ( 1). Domestically, robots are deployed as traffic guides and restaurant service staff, while swarms of drones entertain audiences in urban light shows or deliver takeout to high-rises ( 2, 3). These public debuts serve to both normalize automation in everyday civilian life ( 4) while projecting international soft power. Behind the public spectacle lies a bold agenda for global economic dominance. In its geopolitical contest with the United States, Beijing sees robotics as the core engine to project power and dictate the future of global supply chains ( 5).

Is the war entering a new phase? Russian forces have launched widespread attacks targeting industrial sites and critical energy infrastructure across several regions of Ukraine, killing at least three people and knocking out power to nearly 100,000 residents, Ukrainian officials said. The strikes overnight hit industrial facilities simultaneously in the Dnipropetrovsk region, including Dnipro, Pavlohrad and Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, regional Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram on Tuesday. Ukraine's air force said Moscow's overnight barrage involved 212 drones, four cruise missiles, and an unspecified number of Oniks antiship and ballistic missiles. The strikes also damaged energy infrastructure.

President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Washington as America and China compete over AI chips, semiconductors and the technology ecosystem shaping global power.