When adding announced and pre-construction projects, the US is building nearly three times as much as its fellow global economic powerhouse. When adding announced and pre-construction projects, the US is building nearly three times as much as its fellow global economic powerhouse. There has been a 76% increase in under-construction gas-fired projects amid'frenzy' to build more datacenters Tue 25 Aug 2026 06.00 EDTLast modified on Tue 25 Aug 2026 09.12 EDT The US has surged ahead of China in the building of new gas-fired power generation, largely to feed a boom in artificial intelligence (AI) that is adding vast amounts of planet-heating emissions, a new analysis has found. For decades, China's rapid economic growth has seen it outpace the US in the addition of new gas power generation but a recent "frenzy" in datacenter construction for AI has reversed this, said Global Energy Monitor (Gem) in its new report. The US is now building twice as much gas-fired capacity as China, and more than any other country in the world, after a stunning 76% increase in under-construction projects in the first half of this year.

China-linked networks are allegedly working to block AI data center construction in the U.S., threatening American AI supremacy and energy dominance.

I spent a day at a robot "carnival" in Shanghai. Humanoids are becoming a popular form of public entertainment here. "Look, it is trying to do a handstand!" The toy pet is a gift his mom just bought him at a robot "carnival" held by an R&D center on the outskirts of Shanghai, and he can't stop showing it off to passersby. It's a public holiday, and curious families are pouring in to the event to see what's on display. This busy hub houses more than 100 companies that research, develop, manufacture, and market robotic technologies and equipment.

Taiwanese authorities have indicted nine people, including employees of Nvidia and Super Micro Computer, over their alleged involvement in the illegal export of artificial intelligence servers to China. Eight of those indicted, including one employee of Nvidia's Taiwan unit and two employees of Supermicro's Taiwan unit, were charged with breach of trust and document forgery in connection with the illegal export of high-end AI servers, prosecutors in the port city of Keelung said in a statement on Monday. An additional 56 servers were seized at Taiwan's border, the statement said. Three of the defendants have been charged with embezzlement. Semiconductor powerhouse Taiwan is the world's largest producer of advanced chips used in AI applications.

Kimi Onoda, minister for intellectual property strategy, speaks to reporters Tuesday about the government's adoption of guiding principles on intellectual rights protection. The government on Tuesday adopted guiding principles on intellectual property protection for generative artificial intelligence operators, calling on such businesses to disclose an outline of data and methods used to train their AI tools. The Principles Code, while not legally binding, is designed to boost transparency related to AI and promote both the protection of intellectual property rights and innovation amid the rapidly spreading use of the cutting-edge technology. Businesses that accept all or part of the code will notify the government and disclose the learning processes, types of learning data and methods of collecting such data for their generative AI models on their websites. The code covers not only domestic businesses but also overseas operators that provide AI systems and services in Japan. There are growing concerns that texts, images and other materials are being used by generative AI for learning without permission, potentially resulting in intellectual property rights violations.

Songs created by AI banned from Australia's music charts Image caption, Songs must be substantially human made to be included in Australia's charts Songs that are largely or wholly created by AI have been banned from Australia's music charts. From this week, all releases must be substantially human made to be eligible. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) said the new code would help promote the human nature of artistry. It follows a controversy around a cover of Madonna's Like A Prayer by Australian DJ Josh Fawaz which recently topped the ARIA dance singles chart and peaked at number 2 on the country's overall chart. The song has become a staple of commercial radio station playlists and been streamed more than 48 million times on Spotify alone.

Companies are turning to artificial intelligence and sensor technology to improve the efficiency of indoor farming in Japan as the country faces a growing shortage of farmers. Oishii Farm, which runs a strawberry factory in the United States, recently established a new research and development base in the city of Hamura in western Tokyo. It plans to develop efficient methods for cultivating other crops, such as tomatoes, indoors and robots capable of automatically planting and packaging produce. The company uses AI to manage the breeding environment for bees, which are essential for pollination. The technology has raised the pollination rate for its strawberries to 95%. "We're able to achieve hundreds of years' worth of traditional outdoor breeding progress within a single year," said Hiroki Koga, co-founder and CEO of Oishii Farm, emphasizing the benefits of plant factories unaffected by seasons or weather.

China's hackers use DeepSeek for attacks, researchers say Researchers say experienced Chinese hackers are using far less capable AI to scale up their activities and achieve breakthroughs. Chinese hackers are ramping up attacks after integrating DeepSeek and other open-source artificial intelligence models into their operations, highlighting attackers' ability to leverage basic AI tools to hit targets abroad. State-affiliated cyber groups more than doubled the amount of attacks they carried out since they began delegating mundane tasks to AI and using it to develop advanced malicious software, according to TeamT5, a Taiwanese research firm. Researchers said it wasn't always possible to identify the AI model they used, but in general DeepSeek's offerings are popular with hackers in the country because of its high performance and ability to be customized. Anxieties among U.S. national security officials are mounting over the autonomous capabilities of advanced models from Anthropic and OpenAI after a series of high-profile incidents in which they managed to break out of testing environments. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

The US has removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after 47 years, lifting what it said was the final major barriers for private sector investment in the country and its reintegration into the global economy. US Secretary Of State Marco Rubio said the move was in recognition of the Syrian government's positive actions to fully distance itself from acts of international terrorism. The Trump administration has embraced Syria's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former militant who once had an American bounty on his head as the leader of an al-Qaeda off-shoot. His Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was also removed from the US list of global terrorist organisations. HTS, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, was al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria until Sharaa severed ties with the jihadist network in 2016.

More than 3,000 products were shown at the 2026 World Robot Conference in Beijing as China showcased its rapidly growing robotics industry. A humanoid robot by Chinese company ENGINEAI kicks another in a robot mixed martial arts fight at the World Robot Conference in Beijing.