By the end of September 2026, several major developments emerged in the global geopolitical and technological spheres. In Europe, the EU has taken concrete action against Russia's efforts to circumvent sanctions. According to a report by Euronews, EU ambassadors reached a consensus on Wednesday to expand the scope of their naval mission in the Mediterranean, with the primary objective of targeting Russia's "shadow fleet." This adjustment to the military mission aims to strengthen the monitoring and interception of Russian maritime transport to counter its evasion of international sanctions.

The plan has received preliminary approval and is expected to be formally adopted at the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting on October 9. It will then be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, marking a further escalation in the EU's regional security and sanctions enforcement efforts.

Meanwhile, the global technology industry is undergoing drastic changes. Qualcomm is reportedly planning to adjust its foundry strategy for its next-generation flagship processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, in an attempt to end TSMC's status as its exclusive supplier. According to a report by the tech media outlet Techbang, faced with the continuously soaring prices of TSMC's advanced processes, Qualcomm is in deep negotiations with Samsung Electronics, planning to adopt a "product segmentation" dual-foundry model. It is expected that the flagship SoC, set to debut at the end of 2026, will have its high-end version produced by TSMC, while the standard version may shift to Samsung's 2nm process.

This move is seen as a major strategic shift for Qualcomm in balancing cost control and production capacity, and it also highlights the intensifying battle for global advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity.

In the United States, technology policy and market dynamics are being updated simultaneously. On September 29, U.S. President Trump signed an executive order requiring U.S. government agencies to officially change the term "Artificial Intelligence" (AI) to "Super Intelligence" (SI) in all official documents, reports, and public communications. According to a report by iThome, the Trump administration believes that current frontier systems have moved beyond simple imitation and automation, possessing the ability to amplify human creativity; therefore, "Super Intelligence" more accurately reflects the essence of the technology.

Additionally, the online brokerage Robinhood launched its "Robinhood Agents" service this week. CEO Vlad Tenev pointed out that the service aims to lower the barrier for retail investors to enter automated trading, though the market has also expressed high concern regarding the security challenges brought about by the rise of AI-automated trading.

The aforementioned events have a direct impact on global industries and policies. The EU's decision to expand its naval mission directly impacts Russia's energy exports and logistics chains, potentially triggering rising tensions in regional waters. Regarding the technology supply chain, if Qualcomm implements its dual-foundry strategy, it will affect TSMC's revenue structure and redefine Samsung's competitive position in the advanced process market. Furthermore, while the U.S. government's policy of renaming AI to SI is currently limited to administrative agencies, if it expands to industry standards in the future, it could trigger a global debate within the tech community regarding terminology definitions and regulatory frameworks.

Moreover, the proliferation of AI agent services in financial markets is forcing regulatory agencies to accelerate the establishment of security protection mechanisms for automated trading to prevent potential systemic risks.

However, there remain differences and limitations in how these events are interpreted. Information regarding Qualcomm's restart of a dual-foundry model currently stems mostly from rumors within the Korean semiconductor supply chain and has not been officially confirmed by Qualcomm or Samsung; therefore, the final production capacity allocation ratio remains highly uncertain. Additionally, while the U.S. executive order to rename AI to SI carries official enforcement power, it remains to be seen whether it will gain widespread recognition in academia and international organizations. At the same time, specific execution details of the EU's expanded naval mission, such as interception methods and the scope of legal authorization, remain subject to change before the official publication, and should not be over-interpreted as an immediate escalation of military conflict.

Subsequent observations will focus on three key points: first, the specific enforcement details of the "shadow fleet" sanctions and the level of cooperation from member states following the October 9 EU finance ministers' meeting; second, the progress of the collaboration between Qualcomm and Samsung on the 2nm process, and whether this strategy will trigger other major chip designers to follow suit; and finally, the extent to which the U.S. government promotes the "Super Intelligence" term to private enterprises, and whether this will influence global AI industry standard-setting and regulatory trends. All parties should continue to monitor subsequent policy announcements and corporate financial reports in these areas to grasp the latest developments in global technology and geopolitics.