Thousands of Companies Are Driving China's AI Boom. How the Cyberspace Administration of China inadvertently made a guide to the country's homegrown AI revolution. When DeepSeek burst onto the global stage in January 2025, it seemed to appear out of nowhere. But the large language model was just one of the thousands of generative AI tools that have been released in China since 2023--and there's a public archive of every single one of them. Here are 23 ways China is rewiring the future .

What could possibly go wrong? The 4-foot-tall humanoid robot that's in front of me seems, quite honestly, a bit drunk. After 30 seconds or so it abruptly stops, then strides toward me with an arm outstretched. The little robot is at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, on the banks of the Huangpu river in Shanghai. The convention center is teeming with humanoids --dancing ones, box-toting ones, robot dog-walking ones doing circuits around trade show booths. A few lie slumped in a corner as their batteries recharge. A Unitree humanoid robot modified for experimental purposes at the BAAI.

You've Never Heard of China's Greatest Sci-Fi Novel Thousands of authors. is barely known outside China--but it contains the secret to the country's modernization and malaise. Ma Qianzhu was unsatisfied with Chinese progress. An engineer at a large state-owned enterprise, he belonged to a generation that grew up believing engineering is destiny, that China's future would be built, bolt by bolt, by people like him. Then Ma discovered something extraordinary: a wormhole to the late Ming Dynasty. With more than 500 peers, he commandeered a ship and traveled back in time 400 years, to a preindustrial China wracked by foreign invasion and internal decay. Their mission: trigger an industrial revolution in the past that would, in the future, make modern China great (again).

The World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting kicked off in the Swiss resort city of Davos on Monday, with global figures from politics, business, academia and civil society attending the five-day event. The annual forum that attempts to shape global agendas comes at a time of massive global upheaval. United States President Donald Trump will attend the annual event along with other global leaders. His attendance comes amid strained US ties with its European allies over his threat to take over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. Here is more about the WEF and what to expect at the meeting.

The UK government has launched a consultation on implementing an Australian-style social media ban for children in the UK, as well as other measures to better protect minors online. The government said on Monday it would examine evidence from around the world on a wide range of suggested proposals, including looking at whether a social media ban for minors would be effective, and if one was introduced, how best to make it work. "The consultation will look at options including raising the digital age of consent, implementing phone curfews to avoid excessive use, and restricting potentially addictive design features such as'streaks' and'infinite scrolling'," the government said. The UK's announcement comes as governments and regulators worldwide grapple with the rapid explosion of AI-generated content, which was highlighted this month by an international outcry over reports of Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot generating non-consensual sexual images, including of children. The UK has already set out plans for an outright ban on artificial intelligence nudification tools, while working to stop children being able to take, share or view nude images on their devices, it said in Monday's statement.

U.S. and Japan turn to drones to help offset China's military advantages Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones are positioned on the tarmac at a base in the U.S. Central Command operating area in November. Just a few years ago, it would have been almost inconceivable for U.S. forces -- the world's most advanced military -- to operate reverse-engineered Iranian drones. But times are changing fast, and so is the nature of warfare, a fact that is also prompting a shift in Japan. As Washington and its allies scramble for combat-proven and low-cost drones, the U.S. Central Command recently announced the launch of a squadron based on the LUCAS kamikaze drone, a system derived from Iran's Shahed-136 loitering munition, versions of which are being used by Russia in Ukraine. The autonomous LUCAS, which is also being tested by the U.S. Navy and Marines, is part of a broader Pentagon push to fast-track the adoption of various small drones across the military, treating them as "consumable or expendable" capabilities similar to bullets, hand grenades and other munitions.

Chris Pratt on new film Mercy: I asked to be locked into an executioner's chair Being locked barefoot in an executioner's chair sounds uncomfortable, but that is what Chris Pratt requested for his latest film, Mercy. More familiar as a wisecracking action hero in blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, this role is quite a departure for him. He plays homicide detective Chris Raven, who's fighting for his life after being accused of murdering his wife. Raven is an alcoholic who wakes in the chair after a drinking binge, with just 90 minutes to convince an AI judge he's innocent, or he'll be executed immediately. The film is set in real time, so we see Raven defend his case - while enduring a crashing hangover.

More than 75% of City firms now use AI, with insurers and international banks among the biggest adopters. More than 75% of City firms now use AI, with insurers and international banks among the biggest adopters. UK exposed to'serious harm' by failure to tackle AI risks, MPs warn Consumers and the UK financial system are being exposed to "serious harm" by the failure of government and the Bank of England to get a grip on the risks posed by artificial intelligence, an influential parliamentary committee has warned. That is despite looming concerns over how the burgeoning technology could disadvantage already vulnerable consumers, or even trigger a financial crisis, if AI-led firms end up making similar financial decisions in response to economic shocks. More than 75% of City firms now use AI, with insurers and international banks among the biggest adopters.

Greenland'will stay Greenland', former Trump adviser declares Donald Trump will not be able to force Greenland to change ownership, a former top adviser to the US president has told the BBC. IBM's vice chairman Gary Cohn, who advised Trump on the economy in his first term, said Greenland will stay Greenland and linked the need for access to critical minerals to his former boss's plans for the territory. Cohn is one of America's top tech bosses, a leader in the race to develop AI and quantum computing, and served under Trump as director of the White House National Economic Council. In a sign of how seriously business leaders are taking the crisis, he warned invading an independent country that is part of Nato would be over the edge. He also suggested the president's recent comments about Greenland may be part of a negotiation.

War of 1812 veteran Shadrack Byfield's second book describes a grittier life story--and a hook for a hand. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. A long-lost second memoir penned by a famed 19th-century British soldier named Shadlock Byfield resurfaced in a rather unexpected place--Cleveland, Ohio. As explained in a study recently published in the, Byfield's second book depicts a very different war veteran than the one described in his first autobiography written 11 years earlier. Although he may not be a household name, many early American history buffs are well acquainted with Shadrack Byfield .