They power our phones, cars, dishwashers--and the A.I. systems that prop up the economy. "We don't have a rating scale for complexity, but rockets are maybe a five," an investor said. His partner added, "Semiconductors are an eleven." There are a handful of truly monumental collective achievements in our history: Machu Picchu, the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza, and perhaps, if we're being generous, the Roman aqueducts. Modern global civilization has made one contribution to this eternal pantheon. It is not the moon landing. It is the semiconductor supply chain. A microchip is a bauble of metal and refined sand. It doesn't appear to have epic proportions. Upon close examination, however, the epic proportions are there in miniature. Imagine a perfect replica of a sprawling metropolis, a Tokyo or a São Paulo, engraved at atomic dimensions on a tile the size of a fingernail. The urban details would be faithfully rendered to the last golf ball or egg--each reduced to ...

Anthropic to commit 5% stake to new'public benefit fund' Anthropic cited the potential impact of artificial intelligence on workers as one area of focus for its new fund. Artificial intelligence lab Anthropic, the developer of Claude, said on Sunday it would commit 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund so it has increased flexibility and scale to make donations for the "public good." The proposed fund would be established as a wholly owned limited liability company and would receive an additional 2% of Anthropic's shares, at the board's discretion, for every 50% increase in the company's value above a baseline that has yet to be disclosed. The move comes at a time when Anthropic is planning one of the biggest initial public offerings in history as a public benefit corporation, a legal structure that requires management to consider certain broader interests as well as turning a profit for investors. The company, which has positioned itself as a safety-first AI lab, has said AI could pose "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity" and devoted roughly 80 pages of the 261-page main body of its prospectus to laying out risk factors.

Humanoid robots were seen performing the "Macarena" and skateboarding as tech innovators from around the world are showcasing their latest breakthroughs at the annual CEATEC technology exhibition in Chiba, Japan. Israeli'ad' firm helped infect spyware into Al Jazeera devices Why are migrants risking their lives at sea to reach Yemen?

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday. Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa on Thursday praised the U.S. semiconductor plant project selected for the third round of Japanese funding in the United States under the two countries' tariff agreement. The project "holds great significance for Japan and the United States to work together to secure a competitive advantage in the age of artificial intelligence," Akazawa said during a news conference. In the agreement concluded last year, Japan pledged to provide the United States with $550 billion in investment and loans in exchange for U.S. tariff cuts for imports from the Asian country. Under the project, led by U.S. semiconductor contract manufacturer GlobalFoundries, two new plants are set to be built in the state of New York with funding of up to $21 billion.

But they were both great at getting attention. Public Domain Indeed, academics at the time reportedly sent flustered letters to the editor at calling the prediction "ridiculous" and "manifestly absurd." "There was never, even at that time, any reason to think that it would keep growing fast like that."

Waymo and two Japanese firms, Go and Nihon Kotsu, will jointly launch driverless taxi services in Tokyo in 2027. Metropolitan Police Department plans to set up next spring a section dedicated to the investigation and prevention of accidents involving autonomous driving, the force has said. High-level knowledge and skills are necessary to investigate the causes of such accidents and the Tokyo police hope to accumulate expertise and share it with police departments in other prefectures amid the spread of autonomous driving trials held across the country. The new section, to be created within the police department's traffic bureau, will be in charge of handling applications for Level 4 services -- under which a system handles all driving operations under specified conditions -- as well as investigating accidents and advocating accident prevention. Taxi-hailing app operator Go, U.S. self-driving technology firm Waymo and taxi operator Nihon Kotsu announced in September that they will jointly launch driverless taxi services in Tokyo in 2027, marking Japan's first such commercial service.

SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during an event in Tokyo in July. SoftBank Group seeks to raise as much as $100 billion from Gulf investors to help it amp up its bets on artificial intelligence (AI), the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Founder Masayoshi Son has held early talks with potential investors including those in the United Arab Emirates, the newspaper said. The proposed fund would buy companies and use AI and machines, including from SoftBank's robotics arm Roze, to improve operations, the FT said. Fundraising of that scale would fuel more spending by the tech investment firm, which has invested almost $65 billion in OpenAI ahead of the AI lab's public debut.

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. Yelp, who? 4 ways Google Maps can help you find your next meal - and order it Jada Jones is a journalist based outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Google reveals its first fan-favorite dining list. The list compiles trends among Maps in 10 cities. Google also highlights deeper Gemini integration with Maps. Google continues to update Google Maps for uses beyond simple navigation, with AI-powered features that help you find places to eat and even order food.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries President Yasuhiko Hashimoto poses with a prototype of the company's dog-like robot, Home Leo, in Tokyo on Tuesday. Kawasaki Heavy Industries has unveiled a prototype of a dog-shaped social robot that helps older people with life at home. Leveraging physical artificial intelligence, the robot, Home Leo, can talk to people, recognize its surroundings, make appropriate decisions according to the situation and act autonomously, according to the Japanese firm. Home Leo was presented at a business briefing the company held in Tokyo on Tuesday. The robot will stay close to the older people it lives with, offering companionship through conversation, watching over them and assisting with their daily activities, Kawasaki Heavy said.

Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer for OpenAI, speaks to the media ahead of an appearance at New South Wales parliament in Sydney on Tuesday. Sydney - OpenAI conceded Tuesday it botched the handling of a hacking incident in Australia, vowing to rebuild trust in a nation it is courting to host massive data centers. Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon appeared before Australian lawmakers to answer for the incident, in which a rogue OpenAI model bypassed safeguards to gain unauthorized access to a government health statistics website. Global unease about the power of advanced artificial intelligence is growing after a string of hacking incidents involving leading companies such as ChatGPT-creator OpenAI and rival U.S. firm Anthropic. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.