Bogotá's Mayor's Office, through its Economic Development Secretariat, opened a free call with 500 slots for people over 50 in technology, artificial intelligence, English and job skills, under the Talento más 50 strategy. Registration is open until October 30, 2026, on the Secretariat's website. The programs are Experta más 50, Experta Tech and Yes Bogotá.
Walmart will enable AI agents on its U.S. e-commerce site to carry out tasks such as searching for products, comparing prices and completing purchases. Customers can authorize an assistant with a spending limit of US$50, US$100 or US$200, and by default each purchase will require approval. The company will launch Agent Profiles next month and an Agent Gateway in beta that connects approved agents with Walmart and Sam's Club catalogs. Amazon, by contrast, blocks third-party shopping agents.
Bogotá will have 45 new Mercedes-Benz Atego 3133 garbage collection trucks, delivered by Divemotor to Promoambiental Distrito to strengthen the city's sanitation service. The vehicles feature Euro 6 technology, which reduces particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions compared with earlier technologies, and include a structure compatible with compactor bodies. The fleet comes with technical support from Divemotor, including specialized maintenance, spare parts supply and advisory services for operations.
OpenAI expanded ChatGPT Ads to 26 new markets on October 21, bringing the advertising platform to 89 countries, according to Unite.AI. More than 100,000 advertisers have used the channel since its launch, just over eight months ago. Of the new markets, 14 are Latin American, including Colombia. Ads appear only on the Free and Go plans, for users over 18, and OpenAI recommends reference bids of between US$3 and US$5 per click for traffic campaigns.
Historian Niall Ferguson, researcher Lisa Klaassen and former Google chief Eric Schmidt argue in a Foreign Affairs essay that China and the United States wield a new kind of imperial power built on control of language models, semiconductors, energy and capital. According to the authors, that dominance sets the terms of global innovation and reproduces a center-periphery pattern. The text compares the situation with historical empires and warns about financial limits and the risk around Taiwan.
Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, reported 26% revenue growth and projected fourth-quarter revenue of between $73 billion and $76 billion, above expectations. GAAP earnings per share were $3.83; excluding the $9.89 billion charge from an agreement with U.S. prosecutors, it would have been $7.40. It raised the floor of its 2026 capital investment plan to $135 billion and announced a new class of non-voting shares.
Colombia's National Registraduría will hold the Second Democracy Week from October 26 to 30, 2026, under the slogan "Colombia habla de democracia." The event will bring together more than 50 panelists, more than 15 universities from different regions and more than 20 national and international organizations. Central topics include electoral disinformation and the impact of artificial intelligence on democratic processes, along with a review of Colombia's elections and the challenges facing electoral bodies.
A report by CSIS and the George W. Bush Institute, published on October 14, 2026, denounces that up to 12,000 North Koreans work at the drone plant in Yelabuga, in Tatarstan (Russia), as victims of "serious human rights violations and human trafficking." The document analyzes the role of Russia, North Korea, China and Iran in expanding unmanned aerial vehicle production: Moscow obtains more than 5,500 drones a month, China is the main supplier of dual-use components and Iran supplied Shahed drones. North Korea keeps up to 90% of wages.
Trainees from the SENA Regional Magdalena's traveling TecnoAcademia are working on a smart farm model that integrates biotechnology, artificial intelligence and robotics into crop care. The project, in its second phase, includes sensors, microcontroller programming and monitoring systems, along with planting and tracking installation activities. The initiative aims to improve observation of crop conditions and optimize tasks usually done manually, while strengthening the young participants' research skills.
The PHP Foundation urged users to update patches 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35, released on Wednesday, which fix two critical vulnerabilities that allow an attacker to execute code on servers running PHP. The entity highlighted the help of artificial intelligence in detecting the flaws and said the problem dates back to a Quarkslab audit in 2024, whose resolution was delayed by a "structural failure" in its decision-making process and resources.
Barranquilla's Mayor's Office, through the District Education Secretariat, presented the results of the 'Más Ciencia, Más Tecnología, Más Emprendimiento' strategy at the Education Innovation Ecosystem Meeting. According to the report, 75% of teachers reported greater confidence in integrating artificial intelligence tools into their classes, 88% said they had a greater ability to design creative learning experiences and 96% expressed their intention to incorporate active methodologies. The program is run with United Way Colombia, CEPE and Universidad Simón Bolívar through Macondo Lab-Audacia.
Two critical vulnerabilities in PHP, the programming language behind a large share of websites, triggered a global cyber emergency. PHP developers are working on patches, and European Union cybersecurity authorities advised those unable to apply them to take their web service offline. The flaws were rated 9.2 out of 10 on the CVSS v4.0 scale and would allow unauthenticated remote code execution. Government sites in Europe, Dutch political parties and the Port of Rotterdam went offline.
Telefónica chairman Marc Murtra moved nearly all of the company's executive leadership and board of directors to São Paulo for a special board meeting to review the Transform and Growth strategic plan, launched twelve months ago. The meeting coincides with the final stretch of the campaign for Brazil's runoff election. The Brazilian subsidiary generated 31.7% of the group's revenue and 38% of EBITDA in the last financial year.
A fraudulent application imitating WhatsApp reportedly surpassed 500,000 downloads on Google Play, according to El Economista. Its distribution would have been possible due to flaws in control mechanisms. The app used images, screenshots and descriptions similar to the original, and its developer appeared as Agment Assets instead of Meta. Although it has already been removed, it stayed for several weeks in the Early Access section. ESET warns that such apps may seek passwords, banking information or install malicious programs.
Fresenius Medical Care launched the multiFiltratePRO system in the United States after receiving FDA clearance on October 19, 2026. The clearance includes the Cienby and Calrezdy solutions, which allow regional citrate anticoagulation as indicated. According to the text, this is an initial U.S. commercialization step that expands the company's critical care portfolio, following the recent U.S. introduction of the 5008X.
The United States, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Japan issued alerts over two "critical" vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language, used to build websites and applications. The NSA warned the flaws can provide direct access to a server's file system or database. Spain's Incibe rated the alert at its highest level and put severity at 9.2 out of 10. Patched versions are already available and agencies recommend updating immediately.
During Cybersecurity Month, Vanessa Delgado, strategic alliances manager at Controles Empresariales, warned that digital protection can no longer be limited to people: AI agents, bots and APIs access systems, query information and execute tasks inside companies. Each new connection raises questions about permissions, oversight and responsibilities. Delgado outlined six management measures, including assigning an owner to each digital identity, applying least privilege, logging activity and monitoring continuously.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo last month authorizing the Department of Homeland Security to test the Active Denial System, a non-lethal weapon known as a "heat ray" that emits 95-gigahertz electromagnetic waves and causes a painful burning sensation, according to CNN. The permit provides for the temporary loan of one unit for seven months starting in September and states that Pentagon personnel will not operate the system. Its possible deployment at the Mexican border would mark an unprecedented step.
In Colombia, the Government is advancing the Interoperability of Electronic Health Records (IHCE) and the Digital Care Summary (RDA) to enable secure, standardized information exchange among the health system's actors. In June 2026, the Ministry of Health reported more than 7.7 million clinical records exchanged through this mechanism and more than 2,400 public and private health facilities already operating it. The challenge, according to InterSystems, is ensuring standards, data governance and security to protect patient privacy.
The Tamagotchi, created by Japan's Bandai and sold since 1996, is drawing attention again in the age of artificial intelligence. Its pocket design, with a monochrome LCD screen and three buttons, is inspiring new physical devices for AI agents. The case cited is Meta's Muse Charm, a portable device with a tiny screen and a permanent digital avatar. The text attributes the revival to digital fatigue and interest in single-purpose hardware, without internet or app stores.
