Bangladesh’s gig workers are stuck in gas lines as Iran-U.S. war strains fuel supply

The country gets 95% of its fuel from abroad. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 day ago

AI is about to make the global e-waste crisis much worse

As demand for AI hardware surges, much of the resulting waste will end up in non-Western countries. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 day ago

The Mexican security company with a $1.27 billion surveillance empire

Founded as a home alarm business in 1995, Grupo Seguritech now operates 188 command centers across Mexico and has at least 31 subsidiaries. Now it's coming to the U.S. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 2 days ago

Voice actors fight to save their livelihoods and local cultures from Hollywood’s AI push

Voice AI tools are quickly replacing voice-over and dubbing artists, raising concerns not only about jobs but also loss of cultural relevance in non-English-speaking nations. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 3 days ago

RedNote chases U.S. expansion after its “TikTok refugee” moment fades

China's Xiaohongshu has an uphill climb in a saturated market as it hires in the U.S. and launches an e-commerce portal for overseas markets. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 4 days ago

In its push to become Big Tech’s data center hub, India is overlooking local resistance

Google and Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar projects under construction in India are facing backlash from farmers, while the government offers huge tax relief to foreign companies setting up data centers. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 5 days ago

Chinese entrepreneurs should go global before they go viral

The Meta-Manus deal holds lessons for U.S. investors and Chinese founders alike. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 8 days ago

War in the Gulf could tilt the cloud race toward China

Strikes on U.S. data centers highlight the risks of concentration and the growing role of geopolitics in cloud competition. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 9 days ago

A Mexican surveillance giant you’ve never heard of is now watching the U.S. border

Grupo Seguritech quietly built a $1.27 billion surveillance empire. Now it's expanding into the U.S. and across Latin America. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 10 days ago

Winners of the 2026 Photo Contest

Photographers all over the world submitted images showcasing unique views of technology. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 11 days ago

India’s frugal AI models are a blueprint for resource-strapped nations

The new book "LeanSpark" examines frugal innovation in India, including how startups Sarvam AI and Krutrim overcome cost and infrastructure constraints. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 11 days ago

“Data embassies” and safeguarding digital assets during wartime

To avoid collateral damage, countries consider ditching giant server hubs for smaller, distributed ones—especially now that military and civilian data live side-by-side. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 12 days ago

Amazon is betting on speed in a market that may not need it

Quick commerce promises instant convenience, but it’s driven more by deep discounts and habit-building than real need. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 15 days ago

Nations priced out of Big AI are building with frugal models

Amid a widening global divide in AI adoption, low-cost AI models that can deliver sovereignty and efficiency with a smaller environmental footprint are gaining ground. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 16 days ago

In the Gulf, GPS jamming leaves delivery drivers navigating blind

The war has led to mass GPS-jamming, forcing drivers to rely on memory, landmarks, and phone calls. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 16 days ago

“This is unprecedented”: America’s AI boom is leaving the rest of the world behind

Tech leaders called AI a democratizing force. But it’s concentrating power and wealth in a handful of American companies. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 17 days ago

Workers around the world are not getting what they want from AI

A survey of workers in 60 countries found that a majority of those facing the threat of AI-driven job loss do not trust companies or governments to manage the transition fairly. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 18 days ago

The world’s largest humanoid robot maker is going public

China’s Unitree is profitable, scaling fast, and cutting prices even as most humanoid robots remain far from mass adoption. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 18 days ago

EVs were meant to bypass oil. Now they’re stuck at the Strait of Hormuz

The war has blocked the only sea route for the high-grade, low-carbon aluminum EVs need. There's no quick substitute. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 19 days ago

AI glasses are catching on in China, from shopping to cheating

Early adopters are renting AI glasses for $6 a day for navigation, translation, and school exams. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 22 days ago

Missiles slow Dubai’s tech scene — but don’t shake it

Despite weeks of drone and missile attacks, expat entrepreneurs and investors are staying put — betting the city’s stability and business appeal will outlast the conflict. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 23 days ago

Meta, YouTube verdict can ripple through social media markets worldwide

Landmark trial “shakes Big Tech to its core”; complaint argued companies knowingly designed addictive products that exposed children to harm. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 23 days ago

Fire risks and ugly designs are stalling EV charger adoption

From Seoul to New York City, residents are fighting charging infrastructure over safety, aesthetics, and crowding. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 24 days ago

From Chile to the Philippines, meet the people pushing back on AI

Individuals and communities are resisting the demands and practices of Big Tech's AI infrastructure — such as data centers and digital labor — due to their environmental and social costs. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 25 days ago

The Gulf was Silicon Valley’s bet on the future. Trump has put it in the crosshairs

The same choke points that made the Gulf the world’s energy crossroads now threaten its role as the nerve center of the AI age. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 26 days ago

The stark divide in the UAE and India war info systems

My experience of the tech platforms, media content, and official messaging of the war in two cities. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 28 days ago

Africa pours $2 billion into controversial Chinese surveillance tech

A new study shows Chinese firms and banks are behind much of the continent’s AI-powered monitoring infrastructure. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 29 days ago

“It feels like Squid Game”: China’s workers scramble to keep up in the AI race

Employees are rushing to learn new tools as layoffs and automation fuel widespread AI anxiety. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

China is mobilizing thousands of one-person AI startups

Under a national AI push, local governments are turning coworking space and data centers into AI incubators. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Why refusing AI is a fight for the soul

Author Thomas Dekeyser explains why modern resistance to Big Tech is a deeply sane response to a narrow vision of humanity. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Can Africa succeed where India failed with the $40 smartphone?

Mobile operators and global groups are testing ultracheap 4G phones across six African countries, hoping to close the continent’s device affordability gap. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Western AI models “fail spectacularly” in farms and forests abroad

Big Tech’s AI tools trained on Western data often can’t recognize local crops, forests, or farming conditions without adaptation to local environments. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

The Gulf war is reshaping how Asia works

The global oil crisis triggered by the U.S.-Iran war is making Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Pakistan, and India get conservative with energy. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

The Gulf built oil pipelines to avoid Hormuz. It’s now doing the same for data

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are financing competing data corridors through Syria, Iraq, and East Africa to bypass the two maritime choke points that threaten their digital connectivity. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Meta failed to flag AI video during 2025 Israel-Iran war, Oversight Board says

The board says Meta should have labeled a viral AI-generated video of alleged damage in Haifa during the 2025 Israel-Iran war, urging platforms to do more to help users spot synthetic media in conflicts. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

China leads the humanoid robot race — but the U.S. still has a shot

Scale alone won’t determine the rivalry that hinges on software, partnerships, and Tesla’s path to mass deployment. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Waiting for the check marks: The reality of connecting with family in Iran

For the Iranian diaspora, maintaining contact with family requires dealing with communication blackouts, constant surveillance, and the emotional roller-coaster tied to a message's delivery status. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Black-box AI and cheap drones are outpacing global rules of war

From 3D-printed drones to Anthropic’s Claude, advanced technologies are making conflict more accessible and less accountable — leaving human oversight at risk. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Meta’s Oversight Board races to govern the AI surge

As generative AI explodes on social media, the board’s slow, human-led review model faces a breaking point. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Iranian drone strikes at Amazon sites raise alarms over protecting data centers

Tech industry’s past focus on cyberattacks and natural disasters overshadowed threats of physical attacks. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Big Tech’s Gulf megaprojects are trapped between two war choke points

The U.S.-Iran conflict has closed the only two routes for data in and out of the region. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

An AI avatar is running to represent Indigenous voters in Colombia

"Gaitana" is the digital stand-in for two candidates who will use the platform to seek consensus from their communities on all legislative matters. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Open-source AI hardware could weaken Big Tech’s grip on AI

A new device unveiled in India shows how AI systems can run locally, support diverse languages, and reduce dependence on proprietary models. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

India’s tech sovereignty is built on digital dependence

In his new book, “Computing in the Age of Decolonization: India’s Lost Technological Revolution,” researcher Dwaipayan Banerjee argues that a focus on technical solutions has made the country dependent on big tech firms and failed to solve fundamental social problems. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Iranian strikes test the Gulf’s trillion-dollar AI dream

The region sold itself as a safe harbor for the world’s data. Amazon’s burning data center in the UAE has upended that pitch. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Trump opens for Vietnam the chip door he locked on China

Washington’s move to lift export controls could turn Vietnam from a chip assembly hub into a manufacturing partner — and a strategic alternative to China. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

Why are Chinese EVs cheaper than Tesla?

Scale, low-cost talent, and in-house manufacturing account for most of BYD’s cost gap with Tesla. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago

The next AI whistleblower could come from anywhere in the world

A digital safe allows workers to speak up about concerns even in places without strong whistleblower protections, Mary Inman, a founding board member of Psst, said in an interview. | Continue reading


@restofworld.org | 1 month ago