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Technology
Latest news features and opinion on technology, covering everything from AI innovation to smartphone makers and apps.
US President Donald Trump signed an extensive defence bill on Thursday that restricts US investment in Chinese technology companies and military firms. Photo: TNS
US-China trade war

Trump signs defence bill restricting investment in Chinese tech, military firms

Key provisions target contracts with Chinese biotech companies and outbound investment in technologies with military applications in China.

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Made in China 2025

Can rising lithium costs save China’s energy storage firms from a price war?

Artificial intelligence

Opinion | Why AI chatbots are unlikely to bring about human extinction

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Wellness

New dating app is helping disabled and chronically ill people find love

Disabled and chronically ill people are often ghosted or rejected on mainstream dating apps. Dateability is evening the playing field.

Dateability now covers the US, Canada, Mexico and the UK, with about 40,000 registered users. It was recently updated to improve the look and functionality. Photo: info.dateabilityapp.com
Artificial intelligence

Macroscope | Fears of an AI bubble in Asian stock markets are misplaced

The concentration risk so prevalent elsewhere is mitigated in Asia by a diverse equity landscape and the unique strengths in China.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

BYD ups the ante on L3 autonomous cars, begins testing for mass production

BYD has pinned its hopes on preliminary self-driving technologies to bolster its sales in mainland China.

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Australia

Why Southeast Asia’s move to protect children online may fuel state surveillance

Measures to rein in tech companies risk opening the door to tighter state oversight of online platforms, analysts say.

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Australia banned social media for children under 16 earlier this month. Photo: dpa
Education in Hong Kong

University of Hong Kong professor loses key role over retracted paper

Population expert Paul Yip was corresponding author of paper found to contain AI-generated references to publications that didn’t exist.

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Artificial intelligence

ByteDance pushes frequent updates to Doubao AI as privacy concerns persist

Strong demand for Doubao AI phone eclipses concerns its agent-like functions pose a security risk.

Artificial intelligence

China’s open-source AI models rival US giants, making engagement urgent: report

The report calls on US actors to engage with Chinese firms as the AI landscape continues to evolve.

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Chinese AI developers are largely pursuing an open-source approach, releasing the weights of their models for end-users to freely deploy and modify. Photo: Shutterstock
Xiaomi

Memory crunch: China’s Xiaomi and Honor raise tablet prices as chip costs surge

Supplies of memory products for electronic devices squeezed by AI pivot of chipmakers, spurring companies to pass on costs to consumers.

Xiaomi will hike the prices of its Redmi Pad 2 and Xiaomi Pad 8 series. Photo: Shutterstock
E-commerce

No ‘lowest-price’ requirement: China warns platforms on monopolistic tactics

Regulators tell platforms that demanding the ‘lowest price’ from vendors may not be permitted under new draft guidelines.

Artificial intelligence

Video | Japanese woman marries AI partner

Woman says she developed feelings for and decided to marry a chatbot she created and calibrated following her break-up with a human fiancé.

China trade

China bets big on copper processing, but ‘weaponisation’ risks are low: analysts

Beijing views copper as critical for EVs and AI, but a reliance on imported ore limits China’s ability to use the strategic metal as leverage.

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A coil of copper rod sits on the production line for copper flat wire at a factory in China’s Jiangxi province in August. Photo: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | China still needs Nvidia’s advanced AI chips – but for how long?

Beijing seems determined to take up the challenge of building most parts of the AI supply chain domestically.

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An employee works at a semiconductor wafer workshop in Chongqing on August 24, 2023. Photo: Xinhua
The Philippines

Why the Philippine Army is turning to locally built remote weapons systems

The roll-out of the new Cobra weapon system is part of Manila’s push to build a self-reliant defence industry.

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Artificial intelligence

OpenAI in talks to raise US$10 billion from Amazon and adopt Trainium chips

The deal is under discussion could value OpenAI upwards of US$500 billion, a source said.

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Artificial intelligence

China’s Qwen and DeepSeek edge out US AI models in Christian values benchmark

US start-up Gloo’s Flourishing AI Christian benchmark tested how the output of AI models ‘help people flourish’, CEO Pat Gelsinger said.

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The questions in FAI-C were reviewed by a panel of Biblical experts, including theologians, pastors, psychologists and scholars of ethics. Photo: SCMP
Artificial intelligence

Rapid advances in China’s AI video space lead to widespread tech adoption

Cutting-edge tools from Shengshu, Kuaishou, Alibaba Cloud and SenseTime transform content creation for marketers and creators alike.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Xpeng, Li Auto given approval to test ‘hands-off’ L3 cars amid slowing market

Deregulation to legalise L3 technology represents a leap forward in commercialising autonomous driving systems in China.

China technology

Video | Humanoid robots take centre stage at Shanghai summit

Competitions mainly focused on robotic applications in industrial assembly, home services, flower arranging, healthcare and elderly care, as well as restaurant services.

Competitions mainly focused on robotic applications in industrial assembly, home services, flower arranging, healthcare and elderly care, as well as restaurant services
Style Edit

Style Edit: Audemars Piguet’s innovation at Dubai Watch Week

The luxury Swiss horology brand has been creating coveted perpetual calendars since 1948 – and just launched a new technology.

Audemars Piguet’s showing at Dubai Watch Week. Photo: Handout
Artificial intelligence

ByteDance dominates China’s tech hiring as AI talent demand surges

ByteDance tops rivals Meituan and Alibaba in recruitments this year, according to professional social networking platform Maimai.

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China's military weapons

China’s latest stealth endurance drone, CH-7, completes maiden flight

Designer says UAV can quickly penetrate target areas for reconnaissance and rely on stealth to send information from battle front lines.

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Science

Why China’s growing demand for rare-earth steel is bad news for America’s F-35

Advanced product is used in huge infrastructure projects but that has further reduced supply for overseas buyers like the US defence sector.

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The vast mining district of Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia holds 36 per cent of the world’s light rare-earth reserves. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
China's population

China’s fertility push: IVF grants grow, but high costs still deter couples

Local governments are subsidising a portion of expensive treatments, but experts warn that cash handouts will not fix the economic pressure of raising a family.

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With China’s infertility rate estimated at 12 to 15 per cent, assisted reproduction is seen as a potential lever. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Chinese expert calls for world models and safety standards for embodied AI

Turing Award winner Andrew Yao says embodied AI needs reasoning, planning and control in one framework.

Artificial intelligence

Why Nvidia chip is unlikely to derail ambitions of China’s Huawei, Moore Threads

China’s huge demand for AI computing power leaves room for growth for both US and domestic chips, analysts say.

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