Look back at 2024 through some of our biggest stories, from the rise of WhatsApp vigilantes in India to the struggles of gig workers around the globe.

AI isn’t coming. In Rest of World, it’s already here. Get caught up on how AI shaped lives in 2024, from grief-support bots in China to election tech and startup breakthroughs across the globe.

The global struggle over how to regulate AI > Big AI companies like Google, Meta, OpenAI and Amazon, have come out hard against comprehensive regulatory efforts in the West — but are receiving a warm welcome from leaders in many other countries.

Oct 23, 2024 · Tech Giants Myanmar residents struggle to overcome severe internet blackouts with Starlink With messaging apps, social media, and VPNs banned, people look to satellite services, mesh networks, even walkie-talkies to communicate and work.

Dec 30, 2024 · Kenya’s EV bus demand is surging, but local startups face funding challenges and high tariffs, delaying orders until 2026.

Jan 10, 2025 · The Chinese government may be alarmed by the manufacturing shifts particularly to India, seen as a geopolitical rival and democratic alternative to China, Kyle Chan, a postdoctoral research associate with Princeton University who studies industrial policies in China and India, told Rest of World. “Maybe China is surprised, as many people were, by how quickly Apple was able to actually move ...

Data centers and EV factories mean jobs for some, and environmental fears for others. Catch up on the stories shaping tech and the environment around the world this year.

President-elect Donald Trump pledges to escalate the trade war, but non-Western nations have targeted China with tariffs, too.

In 2024, Rest of World covered some of the biggest shifts in the tech industry that have changed lives around the world: the rise of AI, Chinese companies expanding overseas, the widespread adoption of EVs, the evolving creator economy, more startups becoming regional champions, and growing scrutiny of the activities of Silicon Valley tech giants around the world.

Apr 16, 2024 · Methodology: How we’re tracking AI incidents around global elections Editors: Victoria Turk, Russell Brandom Design: Joanne Lee Product & Development: Jane O’Donoghue, Anna Rasshivkina, Lily Lou. Contributors: Bethany Allen, Daniela Dib Argüelles, Ananya Bhattacharya, Masha Borak, Nilesh Christopher, Chantal Flores, Shukri Hassan, Mutaher Khan, Faisal Mahmud, Lethabo Nxumalo, Adi Renaldi