Musk fails in bid to block OpenAI becoming for-profit business

On

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA — A U.S. judge on Tuesday denied Elon Musk’s request to prevent OpenAI from becoming a for-profit business in a loss for the Tesla tycoon amid his feud with Sam Altman.  U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Musk and his xAI startup failed to prove an injunction against OpenAI was necessary as the case heads to trial.  Musk sued in California federal court to stop OpenAI from transitioning from a nonprofit to a for-profit business, arguing the startup violated antitrust law and betrayed his trust in their mission as a co-founder of OpenAI.  The judgemore

Leave a comment

VOA Mandarin: Who has better humanoid robots, US or China?

On

Chinese tech firms and state media have spotlighted humanoid robots, which have grown in popularity since the Unitree G1 appeared to run, jump, dance and perform martial arts-like movements in a recent demonstration. Both the United States and China are leaders in humanoid robot technology. But industry analysts believe that the United States is superior in AI technology, which is responsible for the robot’s “brain,” while Chinese technology companies have flourished in the hardware manufacturing capabilities of the robot’s “body.” Click here for the full story in Mandarin. …

Leave a comment

China uses DeepSeek AI for surveillance and information attacks on US

On

The United States may become the second country after Australia to ban China’s DeepSeek artificial intelligence on government devices. U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Darin LaHood introduced a bipartisan bill proposing the ban. In their letter to 47 U.S. governors and the mayor of Washington, the congressmen warned that DeepSeek could pose security risks to sensitive government data and cybersecurity and Americans’ privacy, NBC News reported on March 3. China denies the allegations. However, concerns highlighted by the U.S. lawmakers and state officials are not without merit, experts say. The Chinese government has reportedly also used AI models like DeepSeekmore

Leave a comment

Trump, Taiwanese chipmaker announce new $100 billion plan to build five new US factories

On

WASHINGTON — Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. announced on Monday plans to make an additional $100 billion investment in the United States and build five additional chips factories in the coming years. TSMC CEO C.C. Wei announced the plan in a meeting at the White House with President Donald Trump. “We must be able to build the chips and semiconductors that we need right here,” Trump said. “It’s a matter of national security for us.” TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is a leading supplier to major U.S. hardware manufacturers. The $100 billion outlay, which would boost domestic production andmore

Leave a comment

2 lunar landings in a week for NASA’s private moon fleet

On

WASHINGTON — More than 50 years passed between the last Apollo mission and the United States’ return to the lunar surface, when the first private lander touched down last February 2024. Now, starting Sunday, two more missions are set to follow within a single week, marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make moon landings a routine part of space exploration. First up is Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, nicknamed “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” After launching in January on a 45-day journey, it is targeting touchdown near Mons Latreille, a volcanic feature in Mare Crisiummore

Leave a comment

Private company’s craft rockets toward moon in latest rush of lunar landing attempts

On

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — A private company launched another lunar lander Wednesday, aiming to get closer to the moon’s south pole this time with a drone that will hop into a black crater where the sun never shines.  Intuitive Machines’ lander, named Athena, caught a lift with SpaceX from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It’s taking a fast track to the moon, with a landing on March 6. The company hopes to avoid the fate of Athena’s predecessor, which tipped over at touchdown.  Never before have so many spacecraft angled for the moon’s surface all at once. Last month, U.S. and Japanesemore

Leave a comment

Musicians release silent album to protest UK’s AI copyright changes

On

LONDON — More than 1,000 musicians including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens on Tuesday released a silent album to protest proposed changes to Britain’s copyright laws which could allow tech firms to train artificial intelligence models using their work. Creative industries globally are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce their own output after being trained on popular works without necessarily paying the creators of the original content. Britain, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to become an AI superpower, has proposed relaxing laws that currently give creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic worksmore

Leave a comment

Apple to build 23,200-square meter facility in Texas

On

U.S. tech giant Apple has announced plans to create some 20,000 jobs and invest $500 billion over the next four years in the United States.  Apple says it will expand teams and facilities in nine states across the country and that it aims to open a 23,200-square-meter server manufacturing facility in Texas in 2026.  The announcement comes just days after Apple CEO Tim Cook met with U.S. President Donald Trump.  “We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we’re proud to build on our long-standing U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country’s future,” Cook saidmore

Leave a comment

Australia fines Telegram for delay in answering child abuse, terror questions

On

Sydney — Australia’s online safety regulator fined messaging platform Telegram about $640,000 on Monday for its delay in answering questions about measures the app took to prevent the spread of child abuse and violent extremist material. The eSafety Commission in March 2024 sought responses from social media platforms YouTube, X and Facebook to Telegram and Reddit, and blamed them for not doing enough to stop extremists from using live-streaming features, algorithms and recommendation systems to recruit users. Telegram and Reddit were asked about the steps they were taking to combat child sexual abuse material on their services. They had to respondmore

Leave a comment

Rich in cash, Japan automaker Toyota builds city to test futuristic mobility

On

SUSONO — Woven City near Mount Fuji is where Japanese automaker Toyota plans to test everyday living with robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous zero-emissions transportation. Daisuke Toyoda, an executive in charge of the project from the automaker’s founding family, stressed it’s not “a smart city.” “We’re making a test course for mobility so that’s a little bit different. We’re not a real estate developer,” he said Saturday during a tour of the facility, where the first phase of construction was completed. The Associated Press was the first foreign media to get a preview of the $10 billion Woven City. The firstmore

Leave a comment

VOA Mandarin: How will China help developing countries promote AI?

On

After China’s DeepSeek gained global recognition, some argue that the U.S.-China rivalry in AI may be upended. In addition, the Chinese Communist Party is actively offering to help developing countries strengthen their AI capacity building. Observers said that China is selling its AI software to targeted regions, which can challenge U.S. AI and serve as a strategy for Chinese companies to get more business overseas. Click here for the full story in Mandarin.  …

Leave a comment

EU approves $960 million in German aid for Infineon chips plant

On

BRUSSELS — The European Commission said Thursday it had approved 920 million-euro of German state aid, or $960 million, to Infineon Technologies for the construction of a new semiconductor manufacturing plant in Dresden. The measure will allow Infineon to complete the MEGAFAB-DD project, which will be able to produce a wide range of different types of computer chips, the Commission said. Chipmakers across the globe are pouring billions of dollars into new plants, as they take advantage of generous subsidies from the United States and the EU to keep the West ahead of China in developing cutting-edge semiconductor technology. The Europeanmore

Leave a comment

Philippines reports intrusions targeting intelligence data

On

Manila, Philippines — The Philippines has detected foreign attempts to access intelligence data, but its cyber minister said on Tuesday no breaches have been recorded so far. Attempts to steal data are wide-ranging, said minister for information and communications Ivan Uy. Advanced Persistent Threats or APTs have repeatedly attempted but failed to infiltrate government systems, suggesting the country’s cyber-defenses have held firm. APTs are a general term for cyber actors or groups, often state-backed, that engage in malicious cyber activities. “These have been present for quite some time, and threats come from many actors, but a big majority of them aremore

Leave a comment

New downloads of DeepSeek suspended in South Korea, data protection agency says

On

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — South Korea’s data protection authority on Monday said new downloads of the Chinese AI app DeepSeek had been suspended in the country after DeepSeek acknowledged failing to take into account some of the agency’s rules on protecting personal data. The service of the app will be resumed once improvements are made in accordance with the country’s privacy law, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said in a media briefing. The measure that came into force on Saturday aims to block new downloads of the app, the agency said, though DeepSeek’s web service remains accessible in the country.more

Leave a comment

No need for one country to control chip industry, Taiwan official says

On

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — There is no need for one country to control the semiconductor industry, which is complex and needs a division of labor, Taiwan’s top technology official said on Saturday after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the island’s chip dominance. Trump repeated claims on Thursday that Taiwan had taken the industry and he wanted it back in the United States, saying he aimed to restore U.S. chip manufacturing. Wu Cheng-wen, head of Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council, did not name Trump in a Facebook post but referred to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s comments on Friday that the island wouldmore

Leave a comment

Taiwan pledges chip talks and investment in bid to ease Trump’s concerns 

On

TAIPEI — Taiwan President Lai Ching-te pledged on Friday to talk with the United States about President Donald Trump’s concerns over the chip industry and to increase U.S. investment and buy more from the country, while also spending more on defense. Trump spoke critically about Taiwan on Thursday, saying he aimed to restore U.S. manufacturing of semiconductor chips and repeating claims about Taiwan having taken away the industry he wanted back in the United States. Speaking to reporters after holding a meeting of the National Security Council at the presidential office, Lai said that the global semiconductor supply chain is anmore

Leave a comment

Chinese apps face scrutiny in US but users keep scrolling 

On

Seoul — As a high school junior in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, Daneel Kutsenko never gave much thought to China. Last month, though, as the U.S. government prepared to ban TikTok – citing national security concerns about its Chinese ownership – Kutsenko downloaded RedNote, another Chinese video-sharing app, which he felt gave him a new perspective on China. “It just seems like people who live their life and have fun,” Kutsenko told VOAof RedNote, which reportedly attracted hundreds of thousands of U.S. users in the leadup to the now-paused TikTok ban. Kutsenko’s move is part of a larger trend. Evenmore

Leave a comment

Vance stakes claim to US leadership in AI

On

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance on Tuesday vowed that the United States would maintain its leadership position in the development of advanced artificial intelligence and warned leaders of other countries not to adopt regulatory standards that might “kill” the new technology “just as it’s taking off.”  “The United States of America is the leader in AI, and our administration plans to keep it that way,” Vance told an audience of world leaders at an AI summit in Paris. He said the administration of President Donald Trump “will ensure that the most powerful AI systems are built in the U.S. withmore

Leave a comment

Europe announces plans to ease AI regulations in bid to become heavyweight

On

Europe says it will ease regulations on artificial intelligence at a key AI summit in Paris on Feb. 11, 2025, that brought together the U.S. and other global tech giants and politicians. But some experts see bigger challenges stalling the bloc’s ambitions to be an AI heavyweight, from the need to pool resources to attracting more investment and talent. After U.S. President Donald Trump’s massive Stargate investment project and China’s DeepSeek startup, Europe wants to get a share of the artificial intelligence pie. Among other announcements at the Paris summit, co-host French President Emmanuel Macron outlined plans for $113 billionmore

Leave a comment

Vance tells Europeans that heavy regulation could kill AI 

On

Paris — U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Europeans on Tuesday their “massive” regulations on artificial intelligence could strangle the technology, and rejected content moderation as “authoritarian censorship.” The mood on AI has shifted as the technology takes root, from one of concerns around safety to geopolitical competition, as countries jockey to nurture the next big AI giant. Vance, setting out the Trump administration’s America First agenda, said the United States intended to remain the dominant force in AI and strongly opposed the European Union’s far tougher regulatory approach. “We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill amore

Leave a comment