Tag - tech

 
 

TECH

Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith delivers a speech at the French Microsoft headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris, on May 13.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2024
Microsoft’s UAE deal could move U.S. chips and AI technology abroad
The sales accord could progress to a second phase that entails the export of crucial components of AI technology such as model weights, Microsoft's president said.
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote address on the latest innovations in AI, during a developers conference at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, on March 18. Nvidia on Wednesday issued a second-quarter revenue forecast of about $28 billion, topping the $26.8 billion predicted by analysts.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2024
Nvidia delivers on AI hype, igniting $140 billion stock rally
Its shares rose as much as 7.8% in extended trading on Wednesday, taking them above $1,000 for the first time.
Artificial-intelligence-related talks in Geneva between China and the U.S. yielded no concrete agreements, but the conversations set the stage for continued engagement on safety and risks related to the technology.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024
Seven hours in Geneva hotel highlight U.S.-China struggle on AI
Officials from the U.S. and China stressed in the meeting at the hotel a shared desire to prevent nightmare scenarios like a computer-triggered nuclear war.
In trying to govern AI, the U.N. and other institutions need an approach as dynamic, innovative and creative as the pursuit of the technology itself.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2024
We need effective governance to shape AI for good
How can we govern AI so that it serves the interests of humanity? Three key principles can guide the way for the U.N. and other actors undertaking this daunting challenge.
The main targets of a new bill on smartphone software are the app stores provided by Google and Apple, as consumers effectively have only two choices for smartphone operating systems: Apple's iOS or Google’s Android.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 22, 2024
Japan aims to curb Apple and Google's smartphone app duopoly
A new bill would compel dominant platforms to allow third parties to launch their own app markets and to offer more payment options.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol attends the virtual AI Seoul Summit hosted jointly by South Korea and Britain, in Seoul.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 22, 2024
Second global AI summit secures safety commitments from companies
Sixteen companies at the forefront of developing artificial intelligence pledged on Tuesday at a global meeting to develop the technology safely.
A lithography system made by ASML at an Intel facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, on April 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 21, 2024
ASML and TSMC can disable chip machines if China invades Taiwan
Sources said the chipmakers have ways to shut-off the world’s most sophisticated chipmaking machines in the event of an attack.
At the factory of 4R Energy Corp. in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, a lithium-ion electric vehicle battery is disassembled to be reused. Batteries and EVs are among the strategic industries governments around the world aim to support through their industrial policies.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 20, 2024
Grasping industrial policy in the age of economic security
A new era of industrial policies is structured around three P's: promoting strategic industries, protecting emerging technologies and partnering with like-minded countries.
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during the U.K. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, near Milton Keynes, Britain, on Nov. 2, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2024
South Korea and U.K. to host second global AI summit as boom fans risks
The breathtaking pace of innovation since the first AI summit in November leaves governments scrambling to keep up with a growing array of risks.
Japan's digital trade deficit in 2023 was up about 2.6 times over nine years since 2014, as smartphones have become ubiquitous tools and the digital services sector is dominated by U.S. information technology giants.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 20, 2024
Japan's digital trade deficit continues to expand
The deficit in Japan's balance of payments in digital services continues to expand steadily.
Rapidus' semiconductor foundry construction site in Chitose, Hokkaido, in December
BUSINESS
May 19, 2024
Government to consider more aid to Rapidus, industry minister says
Rapidus plans to start operating a prototype production line at the Chitose plant in April 2025 and launch mass production in 2027.
U.S. President Joe Biden signs orders that increase tariffs on China during an event at the White House on Tuesday. The escalating trade tensions risk slowing the transition to green technologies by boosting production costs.
EDITORIALS
May 17, 2024
Looming U.S.-China 'trade war' bodes ill for green tech
China has denounced the new U.S. tariffs as bullying and warned of potential retaliation, arguing that they could harm global green economic transition efforts.
The Tokyo court's ruling comes amid ongoing debates on how to regulate generative AI and is part of a transnational class action lawsuit.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 17, 2024
Can AI-generated inventions be patented? A Tokyo court says no.
The ruling comes amid ongoing debates on how to regulate generative AI and is part of a transnational class action lawsuit.
Toshiba announced on Thursday that it would cut up to 4,000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2024
Toshiba takes advantage of private status to chart new course
The company has announced that it will cut up to 4,000 jobs as part of a restructuring.
Rapidus Chairman Tetsuro Higashi speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2024
Rapidus 'last opportunity' to put Japan back on global chip map
Rapidus' chairman says "Japan is more than a decade behind others" in digital technology, adding that "it will require enormous money just to catch up."
Meta's board of experts is seeking public comments regarding a post criticizing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on its Threads text messaging app.
JAPAN / Society
May 17, 2024
Meta seeks public opinion on Threads post criticizing Japan's PM
This is the first time the board has examined a case related to Threads.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a tactical missile weapons system facility at an unknown location on Tuesday. North Korea has turned to deploying IT workers overseas for government revenue, in addition to relying on cyberattacks and other online crimes.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 17, 2024
North Koreans worked remotely for U.S. firms to fund missiles
A U.S. national helped three North Korean IT workers obtain "illicit telework employment” with hundreds of firms using the identities of U.S. citizens.
The new era of U.S.-Japan cooperation exemplifies a successful public-private collaboration crucial for maintaining a competitive edge in global technology, especially amid geopolitical tensions with China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 16, 2024
U.S.-Japan semiconductor alliance of the future
On the geopolitical side, the U.S.-Japan alliance is on one side of the equation, with China on the other and Taiwan in the middle.
A slogan reads "Accelerate Industrial Transformation With AI" at the Microsoft booth at the Hannover Messe 2024 trade fair in Hannover, Germany, on April 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2024
Microsoft’s AI push imperils climate goal as carbon emissions jump
The company’s total planet-warming impact is about 30% higher today than it was in 2020.
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 16, 2024
Japanese billionaire sues Meta over investment scams using his image
Yusaku Maezawa is suing Meta for its negligence in regulating the use of his name and image in investment scams on its social media platforms.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals