Tag - tech

 
 

TECH

Chinese President Xi Jinping
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 14, 2025
Xi to chair symposium attended by Jack Ma and other Chinese business leaders, sources say
Xi rarely chairs symposiums about the private sector, and the event underscores the numerous challenges currently facing China.
Washington plans to renegotiate some aspects of its CHIPS Act after assessing and changing current requirements, according to the sources.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2025
Trump prepares to change U.S. CHIPS Act conditions, sources say
The extent of the possible changes, and how they would affect agreements already finalized, was not immediately clear.
Artificial intelligence is fast becoming 'a new tool in the toolkit of scammers' preying on individuals looking for love online.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 14, 2025
Got a digital crush this Valentine's? Beware of scams, says Meta.
At a Feb. 12 briefing, Meta outlined a recently disrupted romance scam that originated in Cambodia and targeted people in Chinese and Japanese languages.
This is the 12th straight year that labor unions of major electronics firms have demanded pay scale hikes.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2025
Japan electronics unions demand wage hike of ¥17,000
The focus is on whether employers will agree to raise pay significantly as in recent years to ensure that wages rise faster than prices.
A Nissan Motor X-Trail vehicle at the company's showroom in Tokyo's Ginza district
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2025
Foxconn signals interest in buying Renault's stake in Nissan
The company has approached both Renault and Nissan about potential cooperation.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance waves during a bilateral meeting with the president of the European Commission held at the Chief of Mission's residence at the U.S. embassy in Paris on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2025
Vance warns Europe against overregulating emerging AI
JD Vance’s appearance in Paris is his first major engagement on his first foreign trip as Donald Trump’s vice president.
Sam Altman (left) and Elon Musk were among the 11-person team that founded OpenAI in 2015.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 12, 2025
AI feud: How Musk and Altman's partnership turned toxic
Facing a barrage of hostility, Altman has increasingly suggested that Musk's actions stem from regret over leaving OpenAI in 2018.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the AI Action Summit in Paris on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 11, 2025
France and EU promise to cut red tape on artificial intelligence technology
European lawmakers last year approved the bloc's artificial intelligence law, the world's first comprehensive set of rules governing the technology.
In digital trade, Japan's imports have been rising faster than its exports, amid the dominance of global information technology giants such as Microsoft and Google.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 11, 2025
Japan's trade deficit for digital services rose to record ¥6.6 trillion in 2024
Japan's digital trade deficit is expected to reach ¥10 trillion in 2030, roughly equivalent to its crude oil imports in 2024.
Billionaire Elon Musk's bid is likely to ratchet up longstanding tensions with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the future of the ChatGPT maker at the heart of a boom in generative AI technology.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 11, 2025
Musk-led group makes $97.4 billion bid for control of OpenAI
The move was another salvo in billionaire Elon Musk's fight to block the AI startup from transitioning to a for-profit firm.
SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son announces  the Stargate Project, an artificial intelligence venture with OpenAI, during a news conference in Tokyo on Feb. 3.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 11, 2025
SoftBank eyes debt-heavy financing for $500 billion AI push
SoftBank and OpenAI’s push to build out tens of gigawatts of datacenter capacity has the potential to be the biggest rollout of computing power ever.
French President Emmanuel Macron attends an interview for national television ahead of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2025
Macron beats French investment drum ahead of AI summit
The two-day event in Paris has stated aims that include "mapping" AI governance around the world, and promoting the idea of more ethical, accessible and frugal AI.
Semiconductor chips on a printed circuit board in in 2023. Chinese companies' dramatic increase in legacy chip production capacity in recent years has forced Taiwanese foundries to retreat or pursue more advanced and specialty processes.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2025
Taiwan's legacy chip sector contemplates future as China eats into share​
Strong funding support from Beijing and an embrace of lower margins have enabled Chinese foundries to undercut Taiwanese rivals on price.
The Auckland city skyline in 2021
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2025
New Zealand changes ‘golden visa’ to lure wealthy migrants
As well as dropping the English language test, other potential barriers to investment such as the amount of time investors must stay in the country will be adjusted.
Construction for a new Microsoft data center in East Wenatchee, Washington, in November 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2025
What DeepSeek? Big Tech keeps its AI building boom alive.
After DeepSeek’s breakthrough rattled markets, U.S. tech giants doubled down on massive data center investments to stay ahead in AI.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, speaks at a White House event with President Donald Trump, left; Softbank chief executive Masayoshi Son, third from left; and Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle, at the White House on Jan. 21.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 9, 2025
How Sam Altman sidestepped Elon Musk to win over Donald Trump
After helping President Trump get elected, Elon Musk was poised to dominate the nation’s AI policies. But someone got there before him.
Seven Bank has set up ATMs with facial-recognition technology for cash deposits and withdrawals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2025
Japan's Seven Bank starts ATM service using face recognition
Named Face Cash, the new service enables depositors with Seven Bank or Shizuoka Bank to make deposits and withdrawals without cash cards or smartphones.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and U.S. President Donald Trump. Microsoft and Nvidia are quietly engaging with the Trump administration on policies affecting AI, chip exports and data centers
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2025
Tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia taking a quieter approach to Trump
Under Biden, the United States curbed the sale of Nvidia chips to China and capped the sales of its AI chips to more than 100 other countries
Dig Shibuya 2025 spotlights tech in art and high-tech experiences such as “Around the Corner,” an interactive piece by the Hong Kong-based technology-driven artist group XRT (extended reality art).
CULTURE / Art
Feb 7, 2025
Shibuya becomes the canvas for tech-infused art during Dig 2025
Now in its sophomore year, the Dig Shibuya digital art festival runs from Feb. 8 to 11, with activities and exhibitions popping up across Tokyo’s trendiest neighborhood.
Business input in the European Union's AI Act creation has been limited, leading to unresolved issues and uncertainties that could hinder sectors like finance and health care.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2025
Europe’s CEOs must speak up on AI regulation
In the case of the EU’s AI Act, a lack of business participation in the drafting process has already left critical implementation details unresolved.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan