Washington – Japan, the United States, Australia and India on Tuesday agreed on the need for democratic countries to strengthen their cooperation in developing advanced technologies, apparently to counter China's rise in the field. Ministers and other representatives from the "Quad" nations reached the agreement at an international meeting hosted by the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), an independent commission of the U.S. Congress that makes recommendations to the U.S. president and Congress. The participants worked to deepen the ties in the Quad framework in the run-up to a summit the four nations' leaders aim to hold in autumn this year. "Today, emerging technologies such as the internet of things, 5G, artificial intelligence, quantum technology not only produce economic benefits but have the potential to affect civil liberties, human rights and even national security," science and technology minister Shinji Inoue said as he attended the event in Washington virtually. "It is very important for the Quad countries … which share common values, to cooperate in emerging technologies so that sustainable, inclusive, resilient economic growth can be promoted in the Indo-Pacific region," he said.

If you've got a friend you're dying to set up on a date, then there's good news as a new online dating app lets you play'virtual Cupid.' Hinge has unveiled a new standalone app called Hinge Matchmaker that lets people help their single friends to find love by suggesting matches based on your Facebook friends. The beta test version of the app is free to download, and is available to all Hinge markets in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and India. Hinge Matchmaker gives people in a relationship a chance to set up their single friends, based on your Facebook friends who have a profile on Hinge. As the matchmaker, the power is left in your hands to decide whether your friend should connect on Hinge, with the option to send an icebreaker message to get the conversation started. As well as randomly recommending potential couples, Hinge Matchmaker also has an option for you to take control and select a specific friend you'd like to help by selecting the'lock' option on their profile.