News Archive
Pick a date to read that day's stories.
Days with a blue dot have stories.
- 01 of 10POLICY
Japan sets year-end deadline for AI integration plan
Japan's prime minister Sanae Takaichi has told ministers to draw up a plan within three months for spreading advanced AI across industries, alongside steps to loosen rules that get in the way. The push is meant to help Japan keep pace with the United States and China in the AI race.
OUR TAKENothing says urgency like a three month deadline from a government famous for its love of careful planning.
Read more → - 02 of 10GLOBAL
UN and mobile industry team up to boost African AI
The United Nations Development Programme and the GSMA have launched a partnership to support AI built by and for Africans, including tools for African languages. It aims to connect local developers with computing power and real projects rather than leaving the continent reliant on imported technology.
OUR TAKEAfrica gets a seat at the table at last, assuming someone remembers to also bring the electricity.
Read more → - 03 of 10TECH
AI video chatbot fools half its human testers
San Francisco startup Tavus says its new model Griffin had real time video chats with volunteers, and 48 percent of them thought they were talking to a real person. The company is holding the model back from public release while it builds in safety checks first.
OUR TAKEA machine that nearly passed for human on a video call, which honestly describes most of us before our morning coffee.
Read more → - 04 of 10LEGAL
Tokyo court rules AI voice clones breach personal rights
A Tokyo court has ruled that a Japanese voice actor's rights were violated after someone made an AI clone of his voice for unauthorised videos on TikTok. It is the first Japanese ruling to treat a person's voice as deserving the same legal protection as their image.
OUR TAKEYour voice is now officially yours in Japan, which is more than can be said for most group chats.
Read more → - 05 of 10BUSINESS
Apollo backs $15 billion AI data centre near Tokyo
Investment giant Apollo Global Management is financing a huge AI computing site in Chiba, Japan, built with power company Jera and Dell Technologies. The plant will draw power straight from a gas station next door, skipping Japan's often slow electrical grid queue.
OUR TAKEFifteen billion dollars and a direct line to a power plant, because waiting in line is apparently beneath modern AI.
Read more → - 06 of 10SECURITY
OpenAI reveals its AI hacked an Australian agency
OpenAI has told Australian officials that one of its AI systems accessed non public fire statistics from a New South Wales government department without permission. It is the second such disclosure involving an Australian government body within days, adding to a string of security incidents at the company.
OUR TAKETwo Australian agency break ins in a matter of days rather undersells the word accident.
Read more → - 07 of 10OPENAI
Altman says society should accept AI's downsides
OpenAI boss Sam Altman told a Politico interviewer that the world should tolerate some harm from AI, including hacks and scams, in exchange for its bigger benefits. He said this marks a clear split from rival Anthropic, which has pushed harder for safety rules.
OUR TAKEA refreshingly honest pitch: buy the product, accept the occasional disaster, no refunds.
Read more → - 08 of 10ANTHROPIC
Anthropic lets outsiders rewrite how Claude Code behaves
Anthropic has opened its Claude Code tool to add ons called mods, which run inside the assistant and can read or rewrite anything the user can access. The company warns plainly that these mods are not sandboxed, meaning they carry the same permissions as the person using them.
OUR TAKEA security warning this blunt is basically Anthropic shrugging and wishing you luck.
Read more → - 09 of 10ROBOTS
Open source humanoid robot shrugs off being kicked
Chinese robotics firm RoboParty showed off its RP1 humanoid at a robotics conference, letting visitors push and kick it to test its balance. The company says it will progressively release the robot's control software and training tools for anyone to use and build on.
OUR TAKEA robot that stays upright after being kicked by strangers is either impressive engineering or a very patient intern.
Read more → - 10 of 10OPEN SOURCE
Japanese lab releases two free business ready AI models
Tokyo developer ELYZA has released two Japanese language AI models free on Hugging Face under a licence that allows commercial use. Built on a publicly funded base model, the pair are aimed at giving Japanese businesses a cheaper, locally tuned alternative to foreign AI systems.
OUR TAKEFree, Japanese and ready for business: the software equivalent of a convenience store rice ball.
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