Tag - ai

 
 

AI

After losing her family to a plane accident, Suzie (played by Rashida Jones) receives a posthumous gift from her husband in the form of a robot named Sunny (voiced by Joanna Sotomura).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jul 5, 2024
Rashida Jones uncovers an AI-fueled mystery in the AppleTV+ series 'Sunny'
Set in Kyoto, the story about a woman dealing with grief and an unexpected robot companion is a departure from the actor's comedic repertoire.
Renesas Electronics CEO Hidetoshi Shibata
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 3, 2024
Ex-banker behind chipmaker Renesas targets $100 billion value
Renesas’ push coincides with an aggressive campaign by Japan to turn the world’s fourth-largest economy into a chip powerhouse.
The focus on artificial intelligence comes as the Self-Defense Forces grapple with concerns about recruitment and its abilities to harness the power of new technologies.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2024
Japan’s Defense Ministry unveils first basic policy on use of AI
The new policy comes as Japan looks to stave off a manpower shortage and keep pace with China and the U.S. on the technology’s military applications.
Inside the TikTok office in Singapore in 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 1, 2024
China’s AI startups head to Singapore in a bid for global growth
Singapore offers many Chinese artificial intelligence startup companies better access to global investors and customers than China does.
A drum sits inside the Korea Exchange in Seoul on June 13. South Korea is extending a ban on stock short selling through March 30 next year and planning harsher penalties for illegal trades.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 30, 2024
High-speed traders and short sellers face growing Asia crackdown
Recent developments show the difficulty of keeping up with increasingly sophisticated trading strategies and their market impact — challenges set to grow further with AI.
Voters listen to a stump speech in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2024
Candidates turn to AI in Tokyo governor race
Experts warn that while social media give voters more insight into candidates, there are risks of information bias.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the company's annual general meeting in Tokyo last Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2024
SoftBank to back AI startup Perplexity at $3 billion valuation
SoftBank will invest between $10 million and $20 million in the firm, which aims to use AI to compete with Alphabet’s Google search.
Sports announcer Al Michaels during an event in 2015
OLYMPICS
Jun 27, 2024
NBC brings AI version of legendary broadcaster to Olympic coverage
Narration by Al Michaels generated using artificial intelligence will voice the recaps that will be personalized to individual viewers of NBC's Peacock streaming service.
Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ken Saito (left), U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (center) and South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun in Washington on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 27, 2024
U.S., Japan and South Korea vow strategic cooperation
"We're doubling down our efforts to work together," U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
Nvidia, the darling of the artificial intelligence boom, gained 6.8% on Tuesday, rebounding from a recent selloff that erased $430 billion of its market value.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 26, 2024
Ignore the ‘AI revolution’ at your own peril, investors warn
While a recent selloff in shares of chipmaker Nvidia may have fueled fears of an AI bubble, the correction is barely visible, some say.
Chipmaker Nvidia’s stellar growth to become the world’s most valuable company masks growing skepticism about AI’s usefulness as a general purpose tool.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2024
Nvidia’s explosive growth masks AI disillusionment
Businesses shouldn't believe tech companies' pitch that AI can solve all problems, everywhere, all at once. Figuring out its niche applications is the recipe for success.
Sakana AI, prospected to become the fastest-ever Japanese company to achieve unicorn status, aims to create energy-efficient AI models that tackle long-term national-level issues.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024
What a Japanese AI unicorn can teach Silicon Valley
Sakana AI, prospected to become the fastest-ever Japanese company to achieve unicorn status, is taking a long-term approach to the development of AI for good.
A wind farm in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. For Japan's future energy roadmap to center on clean sources, the government should reform the institutions overseeing energy policy to avoid vested interests from slowing the transition down.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024
It’s time for Japan to set up a climate change agency
The government is currently reviewing Japan's Strategic Energy Plan. But who's shaping this key document for the future? It's mostly older men with vested interests.
A screen tracks Nvidia's stock price movements as a trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 23, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2024
Nvidia sales grow so fast that Wall Street can’t keep up
No one can figure out what the chipmaker’s revenues are actually going to be amid an artificial intelligence boom.
Amid AI chip juggernaut Nvidia's staggering successes, startups seeking the attention of Silicon Valley venture capitalists are being asked to innovate — but without a clear indication of where the next chapter of AI will be written.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jun 23, 2024
Beyond Nvidia: the search for AI's next breakthrough
Startups are being asked to innovate — but without a clear indication of where the next chapter of AI will be written.
Softbank Group CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during the annual general shareholders' meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 21, 2024
SoftBank’s Son aims to create ‘super’ AI in new investment drive
He envisions a future when Arm Holdings chips support an ecosystem of technology that can collectively cure cancer, clean houses and play with children.
The University of Tokyo in the capital's Bunkyo Ward
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 21, 2024
Japanese team uses AI to predict cancer risk from fatty liver images
The model has proved that it can predict cancer onset risk with 82.3% accuracy, researchers have said.
Is artificial intelligence the future of faith? Advanced algorithms might shape future religious beliefs much like technologies shaped our ancestors' spiritual practices and understandings.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2024
Can AI foster a global consciousness?
Is artificial intelligence the future of faith? Advanced algorithms might shape religious beliefs as technologies shaped our ancestors' spirituality.
SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son says the conglomerate is ready to make its next big move, without fear of whether that’ll be a hit or miss.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2024
After losses, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son says he's ready for his next big bet
The billionaire has warned that his next big endeavor could be a big hit or a bad flop — but that SoftBank has no choice but to try.
Mayumi Kitakata uses "CatsMe!," an AI-driven smartphone app that purports to tell when a cat is feeling pain, near her 14 year-old male pet cat Chi at her home in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2024
Japan's beloved cats get health care help from AI
The CatsMe! app has been used on 6,000 pictures of cats and by more than 230,000 customers since its launch last year.

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