A quick left hook, a front kick to the chest, a few criss-cross jabs, and the crowd cheers. But it is not kickboxing prowess that concludes the match. It is an attempted roundhouse kick that squarely misses its target, sending the kickboxer from a top university team tumbling to the floor. While traditional kickboxing comes with the risk of blood, sweat and serious head injuries, the competitors in Friday’s match at the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing faced a different set of challenges. Balance, battery life and a…
Tag: Artificial intelligence (AI)
Robots run, punch and score at World Humanoid Robot Games in China – video
China is hosting the inaugural three-day World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing as it looks to showcase its advances in artificial intelligence and robotics. In total, 280 teams from 16 countries are taking part in the event, where humanoids compete in sports such as kickboxing, football and athletics. The Guardian
Nvidia and AMD agree to pay 15% of China chip export revenues to US
The chipmakers Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the US government 15% of their revenue from advanced chips sold to China in return for export licences to the key market. The unprecedented move, an apparent reversal of US national security restrictions on the chip sales, signalled an easing in the US-China trade war. Donald Trump has weaponised trade restrictions and tariffs to bring business to US shores. However, the quid pro quo arrangement, first reported by the Financial Times, is potentially unconstitutional. The arrangement will lead to Nvidia giving…
China calls for global AI cooperation days after Trump administration unveils low-regulation strategy
Chinese premier Li Qiang has proposed establishing an organisation to foster global cooperation on artificial intelligence, calling on countries to coordinate on the development and security of the fast-evolving technology, days after the US unveiled plans to deregulate the industry. Speaking at the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, Li called AI a new engine for growth, adding that governance is fragmented and emphasising the need for more coordination between countries to form a globally recognised framework for AI. Li warned Saturday that artificial intelligence development must be…
Chinese hackers targeted Microsoft SharePoint servers, tech firm says
Microsoft says Chinese “threat actors”, including state-sponsored hackers, have exploited security vulnerabilities in its SharePoint document-sharing software servers and are targeting the data of businesses that use it. The US technology company said it had observed three groups – the Chinese state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon, and Storm-2603, which is believed to be China-based – using “newly disclosed security vulnerabilities” to target internet-facing servers hosting the platform. The announcement came amid reports in the Financial Times that Amazon was shutting down its artificial intelligence lab in Shanghai, while the…
China hosts first fully autonomous AI robot football match
They think it’s all over … for human footballers at least. The pitch wasn’t the only artificial element on display at a football match on Saturday. Four teams of humanoid robots took each other on in Beijing, in games of three-a-side powered by artificial intelligence. While the modern game has faced accusations of becoming near-robotic in its obsession with tactical perfection, the games in China showed that AI won’t be taking Kylian Mbappé’s job just yet. Footage of the humanoid kickabout showed the robots struggling to kick the ball or…
UK firm not racist for rejecting Chinese applicant over security concerns, tribunal rules
Refusing to give a job to Chinese and Russian people in companies that deal with issues of national security and require security clearance is not racist, an employment tribunal has ruled. It is not discriminatory to stop people from “hostile” states taking up certain jobs in the defence sector because of the risk to British security, the judgment says. The ruling relates to the case of a Chinese scientist who accused a British AI company with ties to the UK and US defence departments of racism after she was not…
Chinese tech firms freeze AI tools in crackdown on exam cheats
Big Chinese tech companies appear to have turned off some AI functions to prevent cheating during the country’s highly competitive university entrance exams. More than 13.3 million students are sitting the four-day gaokao exams, which began on Saturday and determine if and where students can secure a limited place at university. This year, students hoping to get some assistance from increasingly advanced AI tools have been stymied. Parents take photos of students entering an exam hall. Photograph: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images In screenshots shared online, one Chinese user posted a photo…
US attacks on science and research a ‘great gift’ to China on artificial intelligence, former OpenAI board member says
The US administration’s targeting of academic research and international students is a “great gift” to China in the race to compete on artificial intelligence, former OpenAI board member Helen Toner has said. The director of strategy at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) joined the board of OpenAI in 2021 after a career studying AI and the relationship between the United States and China. Toner, a 33-year-old University of Melbourne graduate, was on the board for two years until a falling out with founder Sam Altman in 2023.…
Draining cities dry: the giant tech companies queueing up to build datacentres in drought-hit Latin America
It is a warehouse the size of 12 football pitches that promises to create much-needed jobs and development in Caucaia city, north-east Brazil. But it won’t have shelves stocked with products. This vast building will be a datacentre, believed to be earmarked for TikTok, the Chinese-owned video-sharing app, as part of a 55bn reais (£7.3bn) project to expand its global datacentre infrastructure. As the demand for supercomputer facilities rises, fuelled by the AI boom, Brazil is attracting more and more tech companies. The choice of Caucaia is no accident. Several…