U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he wants the United States to be the world leader in artificial intelligence and crypto currency. To that end, he has tapped a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor to be the AI and crypto czar. Michelle Quinn has the story. …
Leave a commentBENGALURU — India became the world’s fourth nation on Thursday to achieve the feat of space docking, a technological milestone that underscores its ambitions to expand its share of a rapidly growing $400-billion global space market. Target and Chaser, two satellites of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) that are each roughly the size of a large refrigerator, successfully latched onto each other Thursday morning, an agency spokesperson said. The indigenous technology, crucial for satellite servicing, space station operations, and interplanetary missions, positions India for a key role in commercial and exploratory space efforts. “India has ambitious missions planned and tomore
Leave a commentPresident-elect Donald Trump’s choice to serve as secretary of state faced questioning from lawmakers Wednesday. Republican Marco Rubio told senators that if confirmed he would make U.S. national interest a priority. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reportss from Capitol Hill. …
Leave a commentOn Wednesday the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it would implement new export controls on certain biotechnology equipment, citing national security concerns relating to artificial intelligence and data science. The Commerce Department warned that China could use the biotech equipment’s technology to bolster its military capabilities and help design new weapons using artificial intelligence. The department said the technology has many applications, including its ability to be used for “human performance enhancement, brain-machine interfaces, biologically inspired synthetic materials and possibly biological weapons.” The sanctions effectively restrict shipments of the technology to countries without a U.S. license, such as China. Themore
Leave a commentTwo moon landers built by private U.S. and Japanese companies are on their way to the moon after lifting off early Wednesday on a shared ride aboard a SpaceX rocket. The launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is the latest in a public-private program that put a spacecraft from Intuitive Machines on the moon last year. Wednesday’s launch included a lander from Japanese space exploration company ispace that is carrying a rover with the capability of collecting lunar dirt and testing potential food and water sources on the moon. The spacecraft is also carrying a small red “Moonhouse”more
Leave a commentWASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden signed on Tuesday an executive order to boost development of artificial intelligence infrastructure in America. A day earlier, his administration announced sweeping measures to block access to the most advanced semiconductors by China and other adversaries. But the U.S. left India, its strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific, off a list of 18 countries that are allowed unrestricted access to advanced AI chips. Analysts say while a growing technological relationship between the two countries would likely make India eligible in the future to access advanced U.S. AI chips, New Delhi’s existing ties with Moscow and themore
Leave a commentElon Musk was sued on Tuesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused the world’s richest person of waiting too long to disclose in 2022 he had amassed a large stake in Twitter, the social media company he later bought. In a complaint filed in Washington, the SEC said Musk violated federal securities law by waiting 11 days too long to disclose his initial purchase of 5% of Twitter’s common shares. An SEC rule requires investors to disclose within 10 calendar days, or by March 24, 2022, in Musk’s case, when they cross a 5% ownership threshold. Themore
Leave a commentThe White House says it has finalized rules that crack down on Chinese and Russian automobile technology effectively banning all personal smart cars from the two countries from entering the U.S. market. In a White House fact sheet detailing the decision, the Biden administration Tuesday said that while connected vehicles offer advantages, the involvement of foreign adversaries such as China and Russia in their supply chains presents serious risks granting “malign actors unfettered access to these connected systems and the data they collect.” “The Department of Commerce has issued a final rule that will prohibit the sale and import ofmore
Leave a comment— U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order Tuesday directing the development of artificial intelligence data centers on six federal land sites, with a special focus on powering them with clean energy and upholding high labor standards. Biden said in a statement that the United States is the world leader in AI, but cannot take that lead for granted. “We will not let America be out-built when it comes to the technology that will define the future, nor should we sacrifice critical environmental standards and our shared efforts to protect clean air and clean water,” Biden said. The order callsmore
Leave a commentLONDON — Britain’s antitrust regulator said on Tuesday it would investigate Google’s search services using its new powers to see how they impact consumers and businesses, including advertisers, news publishers and rival search engines. The Competition and Markets Authority, which has gained new powers to examine big tech, said search was vital for economic growth and it was critical that competition was working well. “Millions of people and businesses relied on Google’s search and advertising services – with 90% of searches happening on their platform and more than 200,000 UK businesses advertising there,” CMA boss Sarah Cardell said in a statement.more
Leave a commentCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin will try again to launch its massive new rocket as early as Tuesday after calling off the debut launch because of ice buildup in critical plumbing. The 98-meter New Glenn rocket was supposed to blast off before dawn Monday with a prototype satellite. But ice formed in a purge line for a unit powering some of the rocket’s hydraulic systems and launch controllers ran out of time to clear it, according to the company. Founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin said Tuesday’s poor weather forecast could cause more delay. Thick clouds and stiff windmore
Leave a commentWASHINGTON — The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on an extreme right-wing online network, designating the “Terrorgram” collective a terrorist group and accusing it of promoting violent white supremacy. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it had designated the group, which primarily operates on the Telegram social media site, and three of its leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The State Department said the group has motivated and facilitated attacks and attempted attacks by users, including a 2022 shooting outside an LGBTQ bar in Slovakia, a planned attack in 2024 on energy facilities in New Jersey and anmore
Leave a commentPresident-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Trade Commission has vowed to continue the agency’s drive to break up Big Tech monopolies while adding a new focus: free speech. VOA’s Matt Dibble has the story. …
Leave a commentjerusalem — When a renowned Israeli TV journalist lost his ability to speak clearly because of ALS, he thought his career might be over. But now, using artificial-intelligence software that can re-create his widely recognized gravelly voice, Moshe Nussbaum — known to generations of viewers simply as “Nussi” — is making a comeback. Nussbaum, 71, was diagnosed two years ago with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease that attacks nerve cells that control muscles throughout the body. At the time, he vowed to viewers of Israel’s Channel 12 News to continue working as long asmore
Leave a commentWASHINGTON — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer chips in Arizona for U.S. customers, a milestone in the Biden administration’s semiconductor efforts, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Reuters. In November, the Commerce Department finalized a $6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s U.S. unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading-edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo told Reuters in an interview, saying it had begun in recent weeks. “That’s a big deal — never been donemore
Leave a commentDonald Trump will be sworn in January 20 as the only U.S. president with felony convictions, and this week saw a flurry of activity over the court cases still open against him. On Friday, a New York judge is to sentence Trump in one case. VOA Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti reports. …
Leave a commentTechnology companies, industry executives and entrepreneurs are in Las Vegas, Nevada, this week for CES, the consumer electronics show featuring the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, vehicle technology, robotics and more. Tina Trinh reports from Las Vegas. …
Leave a commentwashington — Republican Vice President-elect JD Vance said Thursday that he would resign from his U.S. Senate seat from Ohio at midnight ahead of his inauguration later this month. President-elect Donald Trump and Vance defeated the Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in the Nov. 5 U.S. election. Vance’s Senate seat will be filled by a person appointed by Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine. The replacement will serve until a special election is held in November 2026. The winner of that election will finish the remainder of Vance’s Senate term, which endsmore
Leave a commentLAS VEGAS — So much of the technology showcased at CES includes gadgets made to improve consumers’ lives — whether by leveraging AI to make devices that help people become more efficient, by creating companions to cure loneliness, or by providing tools that help people with mental and physical health. But not all innovation is good, according to a panel of self-described dystopia experts that has judged some products as “Worst in Show.” The award that no company wants to win calls out the “least repairable, least private, and least sustainable products on display.” “We’re seeing more and more of thesemore
Leave a commentThe United States Supreme Court has fast-tracked oral arguments on a challenge by the Chinese company ByteDance — the owner of TikTok — to a new law that would ban the social media platform on grounds of national security. VOA’s Steve Herman reports. …
Leave a commentOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that there would be a wider range of speech on Facebook and other Meta platforms. “We’re going to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram,” he said. Here are some of the key changes: Gone will be third-party fact-checkers eyeing Facebook posts for violations in the United States. Instead, Facebook will rely on “community notes,” a system used on X (formerly Twitter) that allows community members to flag posts and vote on the legitimacy of them. Restrictions on topics such as immigration and gender identity will bemore
Leave a commentMeta is ending its fact-checking program in the U.S. and replacing it with a “Community Notes” system similar to that on Elon Musk-owned X, the Facebook parent said on Tuesday. The Community Notes model will allow users on Meta’s social media sites Facebook, Instagram and Threads to call out posts that are potentially misleading and need more context, rather than placing the responsibility on independent fact checking organizations and experts. “Experts, like everyone else, have their own biases and perspectives. This showed up in the choices some made about what to fact check and how … A program intended tomore
Leave a commentLAS VEGAS — Home appliances that do chores, cars that know your favorite cafe, and robot pets aiming to please are among artificial intelligence-infused offerings at the Consumer Electronics Show opening Tuesday. All these will compete for attention at the annual CES extravaganza in Las Vegas, as vendors behind the scenes seek ways to deal with tariffs threatened by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. AI is once again a major theme of the show, along with autonomous vehicles ranging from tractors and boats to lawn mowers and golf club trollies. South Korean consumer electronics giant LG kicked off a media day Mondaymore
Leave a commentWASHINGTON — The U.S. cyber watchdog agency CISA said Monday there was “no indication” the recently reported breach at the U.S. Treasury Department had affected any other federal agency. Late last month the U.S. Treasury reported that an unspecified number of computers had been compromised by Chinese hackers following a breach at contractor BeyondTrust, which provides cybersecurity services. BeyondTrust said last month that a limited number of clients were affected but has not elaborated. “As the forensic investigation is ongoing, BeyondTrust is unable to confirm the other customers who may or may not have been impacted,” the company said Monday inmore
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