In today’s Digest, we discuss SPUR unveiling an AI content tracking standard, Singapore’s digital economy reaching S$113bn (£66.74bn), and YouTube putting original content first in its Shorts algorithm.

SPUR unveils AI content tracking standard

A coalition of major publishers has released the first formal version of a new standard meant to bring transparency to how AI systems use their journalism. Standards for Publisher Usage Rights (SPUR) published Content Telemetry 1.0, a technical specification that tracks content through five measurable stages: when it's retrieved, grounded into an AI model's response, cited, displayed to a user, and ultimately engaged with. 

The coalition's argument is publishers can already see when AI crawlers scrape their sites, but they have almost no visibility into what happens afterward, making it nearly impossible to understand, let alone demand compensation for, how their work is actually being used. 

Singapore digital economy reaches S$144bn

Singapore's digital economy has reached a new milestone, climbing to S$144.1bn (£85.08bn) in 2025 and now accounting for 19.3% of the country's GDP. That's up from S$136.5bn (£80.62bn) and an 18.8% share the year before, according to the Infocomm Media Development Authority's newly released Singapore Digital Economy Report 2026. Year-on-year growth came in at 5.6%, comfortably outpacing the broader economy's 3.1% nominal GDP expansion. 

More than two-thirds of the total value originated outside the technology sector entirely, with non-tech industries growing 3.6% as digitalisation deepens across finance, retail and other traditional sectors. The information and communications sector itself grew faster, up 6.1% to S$47.1bn (£27.82bn), but remains the smaller half of the overall picture. The report also points to AI adoption moving from early experimentation into genuine, measurable payoff. 

YouTube puts original content first in Shorts algorithm

YouTube is recalibrating how Shorts get recommended, aiming to reward genuine creativity over simple repackaging. Starting 1st October, the platform updated its recommendation system to prioritise original content and curb the reach of videos re-uploaded from other creators without meaningful additions. 

The company drew a clear line on what doesn't count: voiceover descriptions narrating what's already on screen, minor technical tweaks, or template-based bulk edits won't be treated as original, even if they technically alter the video. Instead, YouTube wants creators bringing their own voice, storytelling or distinct perspective to any clips they reuse and that threshold applies going forward, not as a one-time cleanup of the platform. YouTube hasn't published a specific threshold for what qualifies as sufficient originality, nor a timeline for how quickly affected creators might see their reach reassessed.