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Underwater Cables: The Hidden Arteries of the AI Boom and Global Internet

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Deep beneath the oceans lies one of the most crucial — yet least visible — components of modern life: underwater communication cables. Nearly 95% of the world’s international data and voice traffic flows through this vast network of almost one million miles of fiber-optic lines connecting continents.

These cables carry everything from financial transactions and government communications to video calls, cloud services, and AI data transfers. As artificial intelligence grows more data-hungry, investment in subsea infrastructure is accelerating at record speed.

Between 2025 and 2027, global spending on subsea cables is expected to reach $13 billion, nearly double the investment made over the previous three years, according to TeleGeography.

“AI is increasing the need that we have for subsea infrastructure,” said Alex Aime, vice president of network investments at Meta. “Without that connectivity, you just have expensive warehouses.”

Tech giants are now the biggest investors. Meta’s Project Waterworth, a 50,000-kilometer cable linking five continents, will be the longest in the world. Amazon’s Fastnet, connecting the U.S. and Ireland, will deliver speeds equivalent to streaming 12.5 million HD movies simultaneously. Google has funded over 30 subsea systems, while Microsoft has invested in others to bolster its Azure cloud network.

But as global reliance on these cables deepens, so do concerns about security and resilience. Damaged or sabotaged cables can cut off entire nations — as seen when Tonga lost internet access after a volcanic eruption in 2022.

While most damage stems from accidents — fishing nets or dropped anchors — analysts have noted a rise in suspected sabotage near Taiwan and in the Baltic Sea, often coinciding with geopolitical tensions. In response, NATO launched “Baltic Sentry” in early 2025 to protect critical subsea infrastructure.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has also tightened rules on foreign ownership of cable systems, citing threats from China and Russia. “We’re making it difficult to connect undersea cables directly from the U.S. to adversary nations,” said FCC Chair Brendan Carr.

From the 1850 telegraph line between Dover and Calais to AI-era fiber networks, subsea cables remain the unseen lifeline of global communication — and the quiet battleground of the world’s next digital conflict.

Amazon Sues Perplexity Over AI Shopping Agent That Secretly Accessed Customer Accounts

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Amazon has filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI, accusing the fast-growing startup of illegally accessing Amazon customer accounts through its automated “agentic” shopping feature. The complaint, filed Tuesday in a U.S. District Court in California, claims Perplexity’s Comet browser and AI agent disguised automated activity as human browsing to place orders on behalf of users.

The dispute marks a major flashpoint in the debate over regulating AI “agents” — autonomous digital assistants that can navigate websites, make purchases, and perform other online tasks on users’ behalf. Amazon said Perplexity’s technology posed security risks and had repeatedly ignored requests to stop unauthorized activity on its platform.

“Perplexity’s misconduct must end,” Amazon said in its filing, adding that the startup’s software “purposely disguised its automated activity” and that its actions were “no less unlawful” than a physical break-in.

Perplexity, whose AI tools have surged in popularity amid the rise of conversational assistants, previously dismissed Amazon’s complaints, calling them an attempt to stifle innovation and protect its ad-driven business model. “Bullying is when large corporations use legal threats to block innovation,” the startup said in an earlier blog post.

Amazon argued that Perplexity’s AI agent interfered with its ability to deliver a personalized shopping experience, undermining systems built over decades. The company added that third-party apps making purchases for users must act transparently and respect site policies.

Perplexity said its Comet AI assistant allows users to shop and compare products autonomously, while keeping login credentials stored locally, not on company servers. It argued that consumers have the right to choose their own AI shopping tools — a stance that could shape future legal battles over the limits of AI automation in e-commerce.

Amazon’s $38 Billion OpenAI Deal Signals Major Comeback in the AI Race

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Amazon has struck a $38 billion cloud deal with OpenAI, marking a significant win for the company’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) division and a major step toward reclaiming lost ground in the artificial intelligence boom. The agreement comes after Amazon had faced mounting criticism for lagging behind rivals Microsoft and Google in securing AI partnerships and deploying consumer-facing language models.

After years of dominance in the cloud industry, Amazon’s market share slipped to 29% by September — down from 34% before ChatGPT’s debut in 2022, according to Synergy Research Group. The new partnership with OpenAI, however, suggests AWS is regaining momentum. The deal will allow OpenAI to use Amazon’s infrastructure, including its custom-built Trainium chips, to train next-generation models.

Analysts said the collaboration, though smaller than OpenAI’s $250 billion commitment with Microsoft’s Azure or Oracle’s $300 billion deal, is strategically vital for Amazon. “It’s a key first step in Amazon’s effort to partner with a company that will spend over a trillion dollars on computing power in the coming years,” said Mamta Valechha of Quilter Cheviot.

The announcement sent Amazon’s shares up 5%, hitting a record high. The company has recently expanded its AI footprint, including the launch of Project Rainier, an $11 billion AI data center in Indiana where models from startups like Anthropic are being trained. CEO Andy Jassy is also pushing a leaner management structure to boost efficiency, as Amazon plans to spend around $125 billion in capital expenditures this year — outpacing Alphabet’s $93 billion.

Analysts expect the OpenAI partnership to increase AWS’s backlog by about 20% in the fourth quarter, potentially adding $40 billion in future revenue.