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April 18, 2024
 

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Parmy Olson
For Parmy Olson's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
When SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son bought Arm in 2016 for $32 billion, he had grand plans for the company to dominate the nascent market for connected devices, also known as the Internet of Things.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 21, 2024
Softbank’s Arm is not the AI play most people think it is
Today, GPUs are the gold standard for AI development and thus the equivalent of toilet paper during the pandemic.
OpenAI has announced that it will add a memory feature to its AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 15, 2024
The perils of giving ChatGPT more memory
ChatGPT developer OpenAI is rolling out a memory feature that, it says, will improve the bot. But not if it ends up replicating the biases of social media.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose company launched a pair of smart glasses, on stage at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, in September.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023
Do you want Meta snooping in your closet with AI wearables?
AI wearable devices represent yet another intrusion into our privacy, allowing tech companies to learn even more about who we are — and what we might buy.
Microsoft's artificial intelligence prospects just got a boost from Sam Altman's return to his CEO role at OpenAI.
COMMENTARY
Nov 23, 2023
Altman’s comeback is a strategic triumph for Microsoft
Sam Altman's termination and swift rehiring will shift the dynamics at OpenAI.
Members of the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild take part in a picket line outside Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California, on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2023
AI shines a spotlight on Hollywood hypocrisy
Studios haven’t informed or paid background actors properly for being digitally scanned, yet they want the same courtesy from AI companies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2023
Meet the $4 billion AI superstars that Google lost
Eight alumni made one of the biggest discoveries in AI, then left to build their own startups. Why did Google miss the boat?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2023
AI alarmists are dragging us all down a rabbit hole
An AI apocalypse, which was once relegated to the realm of fringe theory, is now getting much more attention than it should.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2023
Your first robot butler will need human eyes
Automatons that clean your house are getting closer to reality, but they’ll still need people to steer them for several years
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2023
Whatever happened to the metaverse?
Following a great deal of hype last year, companies now seem to be reining back their investments in the metaverse.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2023
Elon Musk wants to pause AI? It’s too late for that
A petition on OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology calling for a pause on further development ignores the risk already unleashed.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2023
There's no such thing as artificial intelligence
The term artificial intelligence breeds misunderstanding and helps its creators avoid culpability for mistakes.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2022
ChatGPT could soon be the better way to Google
Answers from the AI-powered chatbot are often more useful than those from the world's biggest search engine. Alphabet should be worried.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2022
Our future artificial intelligence overlords need a resistance movement
Improving transparency about how algorithms reach their decisions is essential to keeping humans safe from artificial intelligence.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 9, 2022
Big Tech layoffs deflate Musk and Zuckerberg
Twitter and Facebook can't afford their billionaire bosses' obsessions in a new age of austerity.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2022
Facebook, beware: The metaverse is flat
Most people are visiting virtual worlds through plain old screens, not VR headsets. Mark Zuckerberg needs to plan accordingly.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2022
AI’s hold over humans is starting to get stronger
Artificial intelligence isn't on the cusp of sentience. But its growing sway over us should still be a cause for concern.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2022
Mass surveillance in schools won’t prevent mass shootings
Growing use of weapons scanners and cameras might ease parents' worries, but they risk creating dystopian institutions for kids.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2022
AI’s next big thing is ‘fake’ data
Strange as it may sound, the growth of fake data is a step in the right direction, and not just because it avoids using people's personal data.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 13, 2022
For Tesla, Facebook and others, AI’s flaws are getting harder to ignore
Investors are pouring money into artificial intelligence, despite clear setbacks in self-driving cars, social media and even health care.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2022
Google is sharing our personal data on a mind-boggling scale
Google transmits our locations and browsing habits 70 billion times a day to advertisers amid trillions a year by other firms, a new report shows.
Magnitude 6.6 quake strikes off Shikoku
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck southern Japan on Wednesday. The area marked in red recorded a weak 6 on Japan's seismic intensity scale.
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
Snake on a train: Discovery of serpent delays Tokyo-Nagoya shinkansen
A Tokaido shinkansen. It is unclear whether the snake was venomous or how it ended up on the train, and there was no injury or panic among passengers.
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.
Benefits and risks: AUKUS looks to take gamble on Japan
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British leader Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day
In a Kyoto long past, the "hyakki yagyō" (100 demon night parade) haunted a sleepy corner of Kyoto. Now, one enterprising monster enthusiast has won a small batttle to keep the march alive.
Japan’s best and brightest designers set to shine in Milan
Adal’s Look into Nature brand, on show at Salon del Mobile 2024, rethinks "igusa" (Japanese rush grass), traditionally used for tatami, as a sustainable material for furniture.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima
Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

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