Sergey Brin, one of the co-founders of Google, has now made a return to the company, actively leading its efforts in AI. The move comes at a time when all major tech companies are running behind ‘AI'. AI needs an evolution in itself now, from being a fun generative AI bot that almost everyone seems to be building, to more direct, industrial use-cases.
After weeks of teasing, Huawei has officially launched the world’s first dual-hinged, triple-screen foldable phone and it’s just as expensive as we feared. In China, prices for the Mate XT Ultimate Design start at 19,999 yuan (about $2,809) for the 256GB storage model — that’s roughly $300 more than a brand-new 16-inch MacBook Pro.
We heard earlier this year that Apple is renewing efforts to build augmented reality (AR) smart glasses, although it sounds like these could only be ready by 2027 at the earliest. Now, a trusted source has reported that the company is considering less ambitious smart glasses. That category has done quite well for Meta Platforms Inc. in recent quarters, so Apple may try to join the party.
At a Silkie chicken breeding base in Tiantaishan village in the city of Chishui, each coop is equipped with a real-time surveillance camera, and each chicken is fitted with a microdevice. AI has significantly improved the breeding standard of our Silkie chickens, which enables breeders to track the chickens' daily steps and identify the sick ones. Also, AI has empowered farming with data-driven precision and increased efficiency in Guizhou.
The rapid advancement and increasing demand for generative AI are significantly contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from data centers. A study by Morgan Stanley predicts that the data center industry is on track to emit 2.5 billion tons of GHGs by 2030. This figure is three times higher than what was previously projected without the influence of generative AI. This rise is primarily attributed to the construction of additional data centers needed to meet growing cloud service demands.
Google's new policy will lead to the deletion of inactive Gmail accounts as part of its efforts to manage inactive accounts and free up space on its servers starting September 20, 2024. The inactive account policy applies to any personal Google account that has not been used in two years. Google has outlined several simple actions users can take to maintain their account’s active status.
Tencent has introduced its palm-recognition technology in Macau, allowing mainland tourists to make payments using WeChat Pay by scanning their palms. This is the first time Tencent’s WeChat Pay has launched palm payments outside of mainland China, initially in over 60 shops and locations in Galaxy Entertainment Group resorts. The technology identifies palm prints and vein patterns, and users must activate the feature on their mainland WeChat wallet.
South Korean police have arrested two former Samsung Electronics officials for stealing technologies worth over 4.3 trillion won (US$3.2 billion) to build a copycat chip-making plant in China. The pair collaborated with local Chinese officials to establish a semiconductor facility, leaking Samsung memory technologies through a joint venture. The police said the theft weakened the nation's competitiveness amid a global chip war between major powers.
Global attention around generative artificial intelligence has been focused on big U.S. companies like OpenAI, Alphabet’s Google, and Meta. But some of China’s giants, from Alibaba to Tencent, have launched their AI models over the past 18 months, looking to capitalize on the hype around the technology. China’s ambitions to become a world leader in AI adds another layer to the country’s technology battle with the U.S.
Due to its heavy reliance on funding from government-backed institutions and state-owned companies (SOEs), China's technology sector may soon face "a big problem," according to an investment guru. Fang, the founder and chairman of Chinese private equity firm Hopu Investment Management, said 80% of Chinese tech investments last year were from government funds.