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ACM Media Center

A new TechBrief from ACM’s Technology Policy Council outlines a strategic framework for governments evaluating how to acquire and deploy national-scale AI systems, warning that improperly structured decisions could expose countries to vendor lock-in, capability gaps, climbing costs, and loss of digital sovereignty. The TechBrief addresses the “build versus buy” question nations are facing regarding whether they should develop and train their own AI system or instead buy access to a commercially developed model.

From "ACM Technology Policy Council Warns Against 'False Choice' AI Strategies"
ACM Media Center (03/04/26)
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Reuters

At the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing, the Chinese government unveiled a five-year roadmap that makes technological dominance over the U.S. a core national security goal. The plan calls for "core digital economy industries" to account for 12.5% of gross domestic product. It also includes integrated national data market policies, AI adoption across the entire supply chain, and an AI security system. The roadmap views robots as a solution to labor shortages and envisions almost fully autonomous factories.

From "China Ramps Up Tech Race with U.S."
Reuters (03/04/26) Mei Mei Chu; Laurie Chen; Eduardo Baptista; et al.
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Bloomberg

Drone strikes during the ongoing Middle East conflict have damaged multiple datacenters, including facilities operated by Amazon in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, highlighting how digital infrastructure has become a wartime target. Governments increasingly rely on cloud computing, AI, and data storage for military operations and surveillance, making server farms strategically valuable. Datacenter outages could disrupt key industries like banking, as well as government operations.

From "Datacenters Become a Casualty of War"
Bloomberg (03/05/26) Olivia Solon; Loni Prinsloo; Marissa Newman; et al.
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Rappler (Philippines)

ACM A.M. Turing Award laureate Yoshua Bengio will co-chair a new U.N. Independent International Scientific Panel on AI alongside Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa. The 40-member panel brings together experts from academia, government, industry and civil society to produce evidence-based research on AI’s technical progress, safety, policy, and societal effects. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the group is “in a race against time.”

From "Bengio to Co-Chair U.N.’s AI Panel"
Rappler (Philippines) (03/04/26) Victor Barreiro Jr.
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BBC News

Ethiopia is testing an unmanned “smart” police station in Addis Ababa that allows citizens to report crimes or concerns through touchscreen booths rather than in-person officers. Users submit details digitally and then speak with a remote police officer via video, who can dispatch patrols if necessary. The project is part of the government’s Digital Ethiopia 2030 strategy to modernize public services and expand digital access.

From "Ethiopia Experiments with 'Smart' Police Stations"
BBC News (03/04/26) Daniel Dadzie
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Reuters

Major tech companies including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Oracle, xAI, and OpenAI, signed the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” at the White House Wednesday, committing to fund new or expanded electricity generation for their datacenters. The initiative aims to prevent higher electricity costs for homes and small businesses while supporting rapid AI development. The companies committed to building power plants, expanding existing capacity, upgrading delivery systems, or entering special utility agreements to meet the growing needs of their datacenters.

From "Tech Giants Sign Energy Pledge at White House"
Reuters (03/04/26) Jarrett Renshaw; Laila Kearney
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