Asia in brief Baidu CEO Robin Li has proclaimed that hallucinations produced by large language models are no longer a problem, predicting a massive wipeout of AI startups when the “bubble” bursts.
“The most significant change we’ve seen over the last 18 to 20 months is the accuracy of those responses from the big language models,” the CEO said at last week’s Harvard Business Review Future of Business conference. “I think over the last 18 months that problem has largely been solved — meaning that when you talk to a chatbot, a frontier model-based chatbot, you can basically trust the response,” he added.
Li also described the AI sector as in an “inevitable bubble”, similar to the dot-com bubble of the 90s.
“Probably one percent of companies will stand out and become huge and will create a lot of value or will create enormous value for the people, for society. And I think we’re just going through this kind of process,” Li said.
The CEO also estimated that it will be another 10 to 30 years before human jobs are displaced by technology.
“Companies, organizations, governments and ordinary people must all prepare for this kind of paradigm shift,” he warned.
Australian bank failure wipes out accounts
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank experienced intermittent outages over the weekend as it tried to fix a problem that saw it duplicate transactions – draining some customers’ accounts.
The bank told customers that an error saw it repeat up to several days’ worth of debits – a mess that saw some customers’ balances plunge into the red.
When those affected tried to understand the situation, the bank’s app became unavailable.
Service has since been restored, duplicate charges deleted and customers informed that any fees incurred by those whose balances went negative will be waived. The bank has not explained the nature of the problem, but has said “We apologize and promise to do better”.
DJI sues over ‘misunderstanding’ at US border
This is what the Chinese drone manufacturer DJI has said The register The reason some of its products did not enter the United States was a mistake rather than a policy, a day before it filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense to include it on its blacklist.
“A customs-related misunderstanding is currently affecting DJI’s ability to import select drones into the United States. This action appears to be part of a broader initiative by the Department of Homeland Security to scrutinize the origin of products, particularly in the case of Chinese-made drones, says a spokesman The register.
Reg was told that DJI proactively engages with US Customs and Border Protection, verifies compliance through documentation, and confirms that its supply chain and manufacturing process comply with regulations.
“We are confident that this issue will be resolved quickly if CBP assesses it on its merits,” the spokesman said.
A blog post further claimed that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has falsely cited the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) as the reason for the current holdups.
But according to John Moolenar, chairman of The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, this is not true.
“For years, CCP drone manufacturer DJI has been rightly blacklisted by the US government for actively helping the CCP conduct surveillance of its genocidal crimes against Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Now we have discovered that DJI is not only aiding this genocide, but also coercing Uyghurs slave labor in Xinjiang to manufacture the very drones used to monitor the human rights abuses against them in direct violation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Law,” Moolenar said.
A law called the Countering CCP Drones Act is currently pending in Congress. If passed, it would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from approving or reviewing permits for new drones and software from Chinese manufacturers such as DJI.
On Friday, DJI dropped a lawsuit against the US Department of Defense challenging its inclusion on a list of devices allegedly linked to the Chinese military. DJI claims the listing has caused serious financial harm, harmed its reputation and led to the loss of business contracts.
Fujitsu Japan conducts disinformation detection
Fujitsu Japan revealed last week that it will work with a group of “leading Japanese organizations”, both private and public, to develop a platform that counters disinformation.
Among these organizations are NEC Corporation, universities and research institutes.
The Japanese tech sumo detailed that it was selected as a primary operator for this initiative in July 2024.
The platform is intended to detect, analyze and assess false information and should be completed by the end of fiscal year 2025.
China takes offense to Gen Z slang
Beijing has announced a further crackdown on the use of slang online.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) recently described the effort – which is part of its “Clear and Bright” campaign – as “correcting the chaos of the irregular use of Chinese and other characters on the Internet and creating an online environment and educational ecology , which promotes healthy growth of minors.”
Common words that could sound like or refer to criticism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are a target of the campaign.
The terms “lay flat” and “leek”, denoting opt-out of China’s “996” culture of long hours with little perceived reward, are currently seen as veiled criticism of the party and therefore the sort of thing the CAC wants. to watch less online.
Among the directives issued is for all local Internet information and education departments to work together, focusing on “minors and other special groups” while “concentrating on cleaning up information related to non-standard and uncivilized online language and writing.” “
APAC Dealbook
Latest alliances and deals discovered by The register across the region last week include:
- South Korea’s Hyosung Corp. pledged to double its investment in Vietnam by spending $4 billion to expand into high-tech sectors such as data centers, carbon fiber manufacturing and sustainable jet fuel – and is positioning itself as both a South Korean and Vietnamese company, while promoting partnerships with Middle Eastern investors.
- Airbus and Toshiba have agreed to collaborate on superconductivity research for future hydrogen-powered aircraft.
- A number of offers from telcos were announced last week, including:
- Motorola Solutions will maintain and support critical radio communications across Singapore’s public transport operator;
- South Korean mobile company KT Corp will build a domestic 5G network in partnership with Samsung Electronics;
- Sweden’s Ericsson reportedly received a multi-billion dollar contract with India’s Bharti Airtel for 5G equipment.
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