World News by Wild Rose

When generative artificial intelligence first swept through China’s technology sector, workers faced a clear directive from management: use AI and use it often. Consuming vast numbers of AI tokens – the basic unit of computing power needed to process text or write code – became a badge of honour, with companies often viewing a high token count as a sign that employees were productive and taking initiative. But those computing allowances are now being sharply rolled back as China’s leading...

Researchers from China’s leading universities and tech giants are setting their sights on a crucial new front in the AI race with the US: developing systems capable of building better versions of themselves without human intervention. In a joint paper published on Thursday, researchers from ByteDance, Tsinghua University and the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, among others, outlined a five-stage road map for recursive self-improvement (RSI). The study, titled “The Last AI Built by...

It follows the Anthropic CEO 's calls for a slowdown in AI development, in a way that China doesn't pull ahead.

President Xi Jinping promoted China’s vision for artificial intelligence (AI) at the annual Brics summit, seeking to win support from the Global South amid tech competition with the US. China would spearhead development of an AI Brics “community”, support cooperation in developing large language models and offer training, Xi said on Sunday in New Delhi. The previous day, he invited Brics nations to join the newly formed World AI Cooperation Organisation. Brics countries must “strengthen...

“Bloomberg: The China Show” is your definitive source for news and analysis on the world's second-biggest economy. From politics and policy to tech and trends, Yvonne Man and David Ingles give global investors unique insight, delivering in-depth discussions with the newsmakers who matter. (Source: Bloomberg)

Bloomberg's Yvonne Man speaks with Artificial Analysis's Micah Hill-Smith about the AI race, China's role in it, and the growing debate over model safety. (Source: Bloomberg)

China’s top intelligence official has warned of rising national security risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI), calling for robust risk prevention frameworks and stronger global governance of the emerging technology. The call from Chen Yixin, China’s state security minister, comes as Beijing seeks to play a leading role in global AI governance while criticising US restrictions. At the Brics summit in India over the weekend, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed an AI-powered initiative to...

Z.ai, the Chinese artificial intelligence model developer listed in Hong Kong, is seeking to raise about HK$15.7 billion (US$2 billion) through a placement of roughly 21.97 million new H shares at HK$714 apiece, according to a company filing on Sunday. The company also announced a 20.14 billion yuan (US$3 billion) convertible-bond sale, according to its filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. Z.ai, also known as Zhipu AI, closed at HK$793 on Friday, down 73 per cent from its intraday high of...

Chinese researchers have developed a way to make an emerging type of memory chip much more durable, potentially overcoming a critical reliability barrier to its use in high-performance computing and future artificial intelligence systems as the AI boom drives demand for more advanced semiconductors. The team demonstrated more than 10 billion writing cycles in wurtzite ferroelectrics, a class of materials that can switch between two electric states to store data. The result was roughly 100 times...

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Sunday to help Brics countries develop and apply open-source large language models and build smart manufacturing factories. Speaking at the second day of the Brics summit in New Delhi, he identified these as two key initiatives to promote economic growth and technological development in the Global South. Xi also said Beijing would offer to train young talent from other member states in advanced technology and innovation, according to state news agency...

Artificial intelligence agents are increasingly taking the wheel in designing China’s next-generation semiconductors, as Beijing and domestic technology firms accelerate efforts to integrate AI into chip design software to bolster national self-sufficiency. Empyrean Technology, China’s top maker of electronic design automation (EDA) tools, has been accelerating the chip design process by using AI-optimised algorithms and agentic tools, according to company chairman Liu Weiping. By applying an AI...

Enflame Technology, one of the major challengers to Nvidia in China, saw its share price surge 188 per cent in its Shanghai trading debut on Friday, giving the Tencent Holdings-backed artificial intelligence chipmaker a market capitalisation of 176.4 billion yuan (US$26.3 million). The Shanghai-based company opened at 410 yuan, up from its issue price of 142.18 yuan. The performance reflects continued investor appetite for domestic AI chip champions, with Enflame being the last of China’s “four...

The response comes after three US agencies accused Chinese AI companies of exploiting American AI models.

Pharmaceutical companies have embraced artificial intelligence in drug research almost universally, yet few company executives expect AI to actually make drugs succeed, according to a Citi survey released on Tuesday. “The biggest risk to the AI-powered drug discovery thesis is not that AI fails to accelerate discovery,” said John Yung, head of Asia healthcare research at the US investment bank. “The stronger risk is that acceleration does not translate into better drugs or higher probability of...

China’s top court has issued new guidance on how judges should handle civil cases involving artificial intelligence, setting out rules on liability for deepfakes, voice cloning, hallucinations and violations of personal rights. Although Beijing has yet to pass a dedicated AI law, the guidelines expand the country’s legal framework governing the technology. The Supreme People’s Court’s 24-article opinion, released on Monday, instead provides guidance for handling AI-related disputes under...

Remote locations are helping data centers avoid land and power issues seen in Europe and the US.

China plans to deploy artificial intelligence computing clusters containing 100,000 accelerator cards and sharply expand the country’s intelligent computing capacity over the next five years, as Beijing steps up investment in the infrastructure underpinning its AI ambitions. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), in a five-year industry plan released on Monday, set a target of 9,800 eflops of intelligent computing capacity by 2030, and called for 3.8 trillion yuan (US$532...

China’s artificial intelligence developers are competing for paying users on a new consumer front: Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall, where AI subscription plans are now being sold alongside smartphones, skincare and luxury fashion brands. Moonshot AI, developer of the Kimi K3 model, and MiniMax were in talks to open official flagship stores on the e-commerce platform, people familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post on Monday. The move comes as AI developers look for new channels...

China has been urged to draw on the lessons from Ukraine’s communications as it looks at new forms of wartime messaging. A recent study concluded that in the complex modern information environment, possessing advanced technology was not enough because success would depend on “weaving” together the information strategy and military operations. It said such campaigns should try to shatter the adversary’s sense of security while strengthening domestic resolve and gathering international...

For four years, Beijing-based Clare Zhang worked as a research analyst at a corporate advisory firm, helping companies assess technologies and competitors for projects they planned to list – until late last year, when she was told that artificial intelligence had reduced the number of analysts the company needed and could afford. Her job involved combing through company filings and public records to produce market and competitor studies that sometimes ran to 500 pages. But AI could increasingly...

China’s science and technology minister Yin Hejun has called for global cooperation to manage the opportunities and risks posed by artificial intelligence, as Beijing and Washington face renewed trade and tech tensions ahead of a planned meeting between their leaders later this month. Speaking at the G20 Innovation Ministerial Meeting held in the United States, Yin said the development of AI and other emerging technologies had entered an “unprecedentedly active” period, with opportunities and...

China is cracking down on artificial intelligence-generated “slop” – low-grade, mass-produced synthetic content cluttering social media and news feeds – as part of a sweeping campaign against the abuse of the generative technology, the country’s top internet watchdog said on Wednesday. In a statement posted to its website, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said it had scrubbed more than 5.61 million pieces of harmful or illegal content and removed some 49,000 accounts during its...