Category: Business

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SYDNEY — Researchers in New Zealand say that artificial intelligence, or AI, can help solve problems for patients and doctors.   A new study from the University of Auckland says that an emerging area is the use of AI during operations using so-called "computer vision." The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, says that artificial intelligence has the potential to identify abnormalities during operations and to unburden overloaded hospitals by enhancing the monitoring of patients to help them recover after surgery at home. The New Zealand research details how AI “tools are rapidly maturing for medical applications.”  It asserts that “medicine is entering an exciting phase of digital innovation.” The New Zealand team is investigating computer vision, which describes a machine’s understanding of videos and images.    Dr. Chris Varghese,…

Seafaring robots are increasingly used for tasks ranging from ocean exploration to rescue missions. Matt Dibble has the latest in this week’s episode of LogOn. ...

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a bundle of steep tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports including electric vehicles, computer chips and medical products, risking an election-year standoff with Beijing in a bid to woo voters who give his economic policies low marks. Biden will keep tariffs put in place by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump while ratcheting up others, including a quadrupling of EV duties to over 100%, the White House said in a statement. It cited "unacceptable risks" to U.S. economic security posed by what it considers unfair Chinese practices that are flooding global markets with cheap goods. The new measures impact $18 billion in Chinese imported goods including steel and aluminum, semiconductors, batteries, critical minerals, solar cells and cranes, the White House said.…

As generative AI technologies like ChatGPT rapidly gain popularity, they are beginning to change the future of the job market. Some fear mass unemployment, but others see a bright future for human-AI cooperation. Maxim Adams has the story. ...

Washington — Two Air Force fighter jets recently squared off in a dogfight in California. One was flown by a pilot. The other wasn’t. That second jet was piloted by artificial intelligence, with the Air Force’s highest-ranking civilian riding along in the front seat. It was the ultimate display of how far the Air Force has come in developing a technology with its roots in the 1950s. But it’s only a hint of the technology yet to come. The United States is competing to stay ahead of China on AI and its use in weapon systems. The focus on AI has generated public concern that future wars will be fought by machines that select and strike targets without direct human intervention. Officials say this will never happen, at least not on…

NEW YORK — A newly released ad promoting Apple's new iPad Pro has struck quite a nerve online. The ad, which was released by the tech giant Tuesday, shows a hydraulic press crushing just about every creative instrument artists and consumers have used over the years — from a piano and record player, to piles of paint, books, cameras and relics of arcade games. Resulting from the destruction? A pristine new iPad Pro. "The most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest," a narrator says at the end of the commercial. Apple's intention seems straightforward: Look at all the things this new product can do. But critics have called it tone-deaf — with several marketing experts noting the campaign's execution didn't land. "I had a really disturbing reaction to the ad,"…

sacramento, california — California could soon deploy generative artificial intelligence tools to help reduce traffic jams, make roads safer and provide tax guidance, among other things, under new agreements announced Thursday as part of Governor Gavin Newsom's efforts to harness the power of new technologies for public services.  The state is partnering with five companies to create generative AI tools using technologies developed by tech giants such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google- and Amazon-backed Anthropic that would ultimately help the state provide better services to the public, administration officials said.  "It is a very good sign that a lot of these companies are putting their focus on using GenAI for governmental service delivery," said Amy Tong, secretary of government operations for California.  The companies will start a six-month internal trial in…

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — Research into online abuse and hate speech reveals most women in Ethiopia face gender-targeted attacks across Facebook, Telegram and X. The abuse and hate speech are prompting many Ethiopian women to withdraw from public life, online and off, according to the recent research. The Center for Information Resilience, a U.K.-based nonprofit organization, spearheaded the study. The CIR report, released Wednesday, says that women in Ethiopia are on the receiving end of abuse and hate speech across all three social media platforms, with Facebook cited as the worst. Over 2,000 inflammatory keywords were found in the research, which looked at three Ethiopian languages — Amharic, Afan Oromo and Tigrigna — as well as English. The list is the most comprehensive inflammatory word lexicon in Ethiopia, according to the…

WASHINGTON AND SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. President Joe Biden is set to announce new tariffs on China as soon as next week, targeting strategic sectors, including electric vehicles, according to two people familiar with the matter.  The full announcement, which could take place as soon as Tuesday, is expected to largely maintain existing levies, according to one of the people. An announcement could also be pushed back, the person said.  The tariffs were also set to include semiconductors and solar equipment, according to one of the people.  Details on the precise value or categories of tariffs that would be imposed were sketchy, but the administration was said to have zeroed in on areas of interest within strategic competitive and national security areas, one of the people said.  The U.S. Trade Representative's…

SYDNEY — An Australian study claims that China’s monitoring of global internet users’ online habits — a practice that has made TikTok controversial in the United States — extends far beyond the popular social media app to numerous other platforms and even online games. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a research organization that receives funding from the Australian government and others overseas, said in a May 2 report that Beijing’s propaganda chiefs are forging ties with Chinese tech companies to gather personal data from a wide range of social media apps or platforms and popular online games. They include ride-sharing app DiDi, the action game Genshin Impact, and Temu, the popular online marketplace. The Australian study claims that China’s ambition is to harvest “strategically valuable” data from media, gaming, artificial intelligence…

New York — TikTok will begin labeling content created using artificial intelligence when it's uploaded from certain platforms. TikTok says its efforts are an attempt to combat misinformation from being spread on its social media platform. The announcement came on ABCs "Good Morning America" on Thursday. "Our users and our creators are so excited about AI and what it can do for their creativity and their ability to connect with audiences." Adam Presser, TikTok's Head of Operations & Trust and Safety told ABC News. "And at the same time, we want to make sure that people have that ability to understand what fact is and what is fiction." TikTok's policy in the past has been to encourage users to label content that has been generated or significantly edited by AI. It…

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Nairobi, Kenya — Digital experts called on African countries Tuesday for laws to protect the data of individuals and businesses, saying that a single digital market in which data can safely flow across borders would help overcome barriers to commerce and trade on the continent. African government information and communications technology representatives, international organizations, diplomats and experts are meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, this week to discuss how data can move freely from one country to another without risking people's privacy and safety. Kenyan Information, Communication and Digital Economy Minister Eliud Owalo said Africa needs to improve its laws to deal with emerging issues in the digital space. "What will enable African countries to remain relevant in the digital marketplace will be our level of creativity and innovation, strategic agility and maneuverability…

Washington — The United States has revoked certain licenses for exports to Chinese tech giant Huawei, the Commerce Department said, drawing opposition from Beijing on Wednesday. The move came after criticism last month by Republican lawmakers, who urged President Joe Biden's administration to block all export licenses to the company after it released a new laptop powered by a processor by U..S chip giant Intel. "We continuously assess how our controls can best protect our national security and foreign policy interests, taking into consideration a constantly changing threat environment and technological landscape," said a Commerce Department spokesperson. "We are not commenting on any specific licenses, but we can confirm that we have revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei," the spokesperson added in a statement to AFP. Huawei has long been…

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EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — With the midday sun blazing, an experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet launched with a familiar roar that is a hallmark of U.S. airpower. But the aerial combat that followed was unlike any other: This F-16 was controlled by artificial intelligence, not a human pilot. And riding in the front seat was Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of stealth in the early 1990s, and the Air Force has aggressively leaned in. Even though the technology is not fully developed, the service is planning for an AI-enabled fleet of more than 1,000 unmanned warplanes, the first of them operating by 2028. It was fitting that the dogfight took place at Edwards Air…

NAIROBI, Kenya — When Ademola Adesina founded a startup to provide solar and battery-based power subscription packages to individuals and businesses in Nigeria in 2015, it was a lot harder to raise money than it is today. Climate tech was new in Africa, the continent was a fledgling destination for venture capital money, there were fewer funders to approach and less money was available, he said. It took him a year of "running around and scouring" his networks to raise his first amount — just under $1 million — from VC firms and other sources. "Everything was a learning experience," he said. But the ecosystem has since changed, and Adesina's Rensource Energy has raised about $30 million over the years, mostly from VC firms.  Funding for climate tech startups in Africa…

omaha, nebraska — Warren Buffett cautioned the tens of thousands of shareholders who packed an arena for his annual meeting that artificial intelligence scams could become "the growth industry of all time."  Doubling down on his cautionary words from last year, Buffett told the throngs he recently came face to face with the downside of AI. Someone made a fake video of Buffett, apparently convincing enough that Buffett himself said he could imagine it tricking him into sending money overseas.  The billionaire investing guru predicted scammers will seize on the technology and may do more harm with it than good.  "It has enormous potential for good and enormous potential for harm and I just don't know how that plays out," he said.  Earnings  The day started early Saturday with Berkshire Hathaway…

DUESSELDORF, Germany — Herbert Rubinstein was 5 years old when he and his mother were taken from the Jewish ghetto of Chernivtsi and put on a cramped cattle wagon waiting to take them to their deaths. It was 1941, and Romanians collaborating with Germany's Nazis were rounding up tens of thousands of Jews from his hometown in what is now southwestern Ukraine. "It was nothing but a miracle that we survived," Rubinstein told The Associated Press during a recent interview at his apartment in the western German city of Duesseldorf. The 88-year-old Holocaust survivor is participating in a new digital campaign called #CancelHate. It was launched Thursday by the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, also referred to as the Claims Conference. It features videos of survivors from…

islamabad — Pakistan on Friday witnessed the launch of its first lunar satellite aboard China’s historic mission to retrieve samples from the little explored far side of the moon in a technologically collaborative mission that signals deepening ties between the countries. China’s largest rocket, a Long March-5, blasted off from the Wencheng Space Launch Center on Hainan Island at 09:27 UTC, ferrying China’s 8-metric-ton Chang’e-6 probe. If successful, the uncrewed mission will make China the first country to retrieve samples from the moon’s largely unexplored South Pole, also known as the “far side” of the moon that is not visible from Earth. Chang’e-6 will spend 48 hours digging up 2 kilograms of surface samples before returning to a landing spot in Inner Mongolia. In 2018, China achieved its first unmanned moon…

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine has an AI-generated spokesperson called Victoria who will make official statements on behalf of its foreign ministry. The ministry said on Wednesday that it would "for the first time in history" use a digital spokesperson to read its statements, which will still be written by humans. Dressed in a dark suit, the spokesperson introduced herself as Victoria Shi, a "digital person," in a presentation posted on social media. The figure gesticulates with her hands and moves her head as she speaks. The foreign ministry's press service told AFP that the statements given by Shi would not be generated by AI but "written and verified by real people." "It's only the visual part that the AI helps us to generate," it said. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said…

STAVANGER, Norway — A convicted sex offender is asking the Norwegian Supreme Court to declare social media access is a human right. The case before the court Thursday involves a man who molested a minor and used the Snapchat messaging app to connect with young boys. The unnamed offender was sentenced last year to 13 months in prison and banned from using Snapchat for two years. His lawyers argue that depriving him of his account is unlawful under the European Convention on Human Rights. The case turns on how vital social media has become for freedom of expression, even though the court must decide the case through laws that predate such sites. "The case raises important questions about the extent to which the state can restrict access to social media platforms,…

WASHINGTON — Hackers who breached UnitedHealth's tech unit in February potentially stole data from a third of Americans, the largest U.S. health insurer's CEO told a congressional committee on Wednesday. Two congressional panels grilled CEO Andrew Witty about the cyberattack on the company's Change Healthcare unit, which processes around 50% of all medical claims in the U.S. The breach has caused widespread disruptions in claims processing, impacting patients and providers across the country. Witty fielded heated questions from House Energy and Commerce Committee members about the company's failure to prevent the breach and contain its fallout. Pressed for details on the data compromised, Witty said protected health information and personally identifiable information pertaining to "maybe a third" of Americans was stolen. "We continue to investigate the amount of data involved here," he added.…

Washington — A majority of Americans believe that China uses TikTok to shape U.S. public opinion, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted as Washington moves closer to potentially banning the Chinese-owned short-video app. Some 58% of respondents to the two-day poll, which closed on Tuesday, agreed with a statement that the Chinese government uses TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance, to "influence American public opinion." Some 13% disagreed, and the rest were unsure or didn't answer the question. Republicans were more likely than Democrats to see China as using the app to affect U.S. opinions. TikTok says it has spent more than $1.5 billion on data security efforts and would not share data on its 170 million U.S. users with the Chinese government. The company told Congress last year that…

Images of African senior citizens walking a fashion runway created a buzz on social media, with AI-generated pictures challenging traditional depictions of elderly Africans. VOA’s Karina Choudhury has all the looks in this week’s episode of LogOn. Videographer: Samuel Okocha ...